You Belong With Me
by Shelbey Jowers
Summary: Nerd!Brittany, Jock!Santana. Being a genius with a filtering problem and an occasional stutter hasn't made things easy for Brittany S. Pierce. The remarriage of her father brings new opportunities, friends, love and a transfer to McKinley. With the retaliation of her new step-sister will she be able to help New Directions win it's first national title? TAKING OVER FOR ACA-AVENGER!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So, I'm sure all of you are wondering 'Who the hell is this? Why does she have Aca-Avenger's story?' Well my lovelies, that would be because I'm taking over for them with this story. They don't want the story to die. This is my first story, so please review. Tell me what I'm doing wrong, tell me where you want this story to go! Ask or tell me anything you want! **

**This story belongs to Aca-Avenger, I'm just helping to finish it!**

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_I've finally gotten all of my boxes unpacked and everything organized in my room, not without a few moments of panic I assure you. First, I had thought Dad had put my box of Captain America and X-Men sheets in storage; thankfully Judy found them mixed with boxes of Dad's things. Second, it began to pour as I took my boxes of comic out of the moving van, once I got them all into the house I checked for any damage; I was happy to find non had been hurt, they now safely rest in their new home in my room's walk in closet. Who needs that much room for clothes anyhow?_

_Tomorrow is my first day at McKinley. Judy said Quinn would show me around but I don't think Quinn likes me very much so I'll probably end up showing myself around and getting lost. Hopefully I'll like it there as much as I did at Carmel. I already miss glee club and comic club. Maybe McKinley might have those too. I'll find out tomorrow. Hopefully, Quinn will show me around so I won't miss my classes because I got lost which frequently occurred my first month as a freshman at Carmel. Let's hope tomorrow goes well._

_Goodnight,_

_Brittany S. Pierce_

_P.S: Lord Tubbington, please stop smoking cigarettes in my new room. If you're going to smoke, smoke outside. Please._

* * *

"Come on Queen of the Nerds, you're making me late." I wasn't even half way through my bowl of Lucky Charms, cereal first and saving the marshmallows for last, when Quinn's impatient voice echoes through the kitchen.

According to the microwave clock it wasn't even quarter after seven. "How could you possibly be late? School doesn't start 'til eight-thirty." I ask, frankly quite puzzled at how it would take us a full hour to get to school before the first bell at eight-fifteen if we only lived less than eight minutes away. Driving the speed limit of twenty-five miles per hour we lived exactly seven minutes and thirty-two seconds away, barring any traffic jams or children running into traffic.

"I have Cheerios practice that starts", she looks at the microwave, "in nine minutes. So hurry up and get ready or you're walking." She walks away with a slight huff, grabbing her gym bag off the floor.

So much for saving the best for last; I rush down my lucky charms and chug my glass of apple juice before running upstairs to get ready for school. Luckily, I had chosen my 'first day at McKinley' outfit last might before I went to bed last night.

Reaching my room I throw off my sweats I had put on after my shower and replace them with a white storm trooper t-shirt and black classic fit jeans. I do a quick run through my hair with a brush, hoping to get rid of any frizziness. I grab my bag off my bedroom before rushing down the hall.

As I jogged out of the house, messenger banging into my knees as I go, I notice Quinn waving to a vehicle that just pulled away from next door.

"Took you long enough." She says before getting behind the wheel of her red Volkswagen Beetle, rolling her eyes.

Clearly I was right in my theory. Quinn Fabray definitely did not like me very much.

The atmosphere in the car on the way to school was just as uncomfortable as it had been in the kitchen. My attempt to make conversation with my new step-sister was quickly gunned down like things that got in the way when Scott Summers opened his eyes.

"Listen, I don't care if you're my step-sister or not. We're not friends. So unless we're at home with my Mom and Dan and you absolutely have to talk to me, don't speak to me unless spoken to, don't sit by me in the classes we have together or at lunch. Comprende?"

Quinn's voice was frighteningly intimidating, causing a slip in the stutter that had taken me two-thirds of junior high and freshman year to get rid off. "C-Comprende."

Neither of us spoke the rest of the five minutes it took to get there. Quinn was clearly not going the speed limit so we had managed to get there in five minutes and thirteen seconds. I would have to say it was slightly impressive given the morning commuter traffic. Once we had reached the parking lot Quinn was out of sight before I had even reached the front entrance.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the front door unlocked and the secretary in her office. Thankfully there had been arrows on the walls pointing towards the direction of the office. Otherwise I would have been waiting a half an hour until another student showed up to ask.

I had been sitting on a bench just down from my newly distributed locker comparing my schedule with a copy of Quinn's Judy had given to me after dinner the night before, we had two classes together (AP Chemistry and AP English), when a short brunette girl came into my line of sight. It became apparent that she had noticed me as well as she began to walk towards me with a large smile on her face.

"Hello there," She said as I took the time to notice what she was wearing. Her lack of fashion sense was a little frightening, especially considering the fact this was coming from a girl whose outfits consisted of comic book character or other nerdy ideas t-shirts, jeans, and workout clothes. "My name is Rachel Berry and welcome to McKinley. I've never seen you before so I would assume you're new to our humble high school."

"Uh, yes" was all I could think of to say. Her enthusiasm was a bit daunting.

"And you are?"

"Oh," I put my hand out for a handshake that is eagerly acceptable. "Brittany S. Pierce."

My name is barely out of my mouth before her eye widen in shock. "Oh my goodness, I didn't recognize you with glasses." I wasn't surprised at that, most people didn't. "You were the best dancer and assistant choreographer for Vocal Adrenaline since you were only a freshman! You're absolutely amazing!"

An undeniable blush creeps up on my face as I mumble out a thank you. If it was dancing praise that I was receiving I was always became a little embarrassed. I'd like to think it was because most people thought that self-proclaimed nerds like me had no co-ordination and could never dance themselves out of a cardboard box like I could. If I was ever grateful for my mother for anything it was for putting me into my first dance class at the age of three.

"Well as the captain of our glee club New Directions I'd like to invite you to join our club. We have a practice today after school to discus our plans for sectionals. We meet right after seventh period in the choir room."

Before I even had the chance to notice the hall was filling with students or to answer her we were both hit with a wall of liquid. It was so cold that it burned my face and my eyes, glasses could only protect me so much. As I tried to wipe it off it wasn't completely a liquid, it was grape slushy; I could taste the grape on my lips. Clearly today wasn't the best day to have worn a white shirt. I didn't get the chance to open my eyes before I heard yelling approaching.

"Azimo! Karofsky! What the hell do you think you two knuckle heads are doing?" The voice coming to our defence was surprisingly female.

"Showing the new nerd girl here what she has to look forward to if she joins that gay ass club you and your freak of a cousin Berry run." One of them snickers.

"Well the two of you better get out of here before I go all Lima Heights Adjacent on your pathetic doughboy asses. Comprende?" The use of the Spanish phrase reminds me of my conversation, or lack of, with Quinn this morning causing a shiver to go through me.

"Don't worry, we'll get you again later when the Queen's bitch ain't around." The other one says with a deep laugh. I hear the two boys' large feet scuffle away, causing me to release a breath I hadn't noticed I was holding.

I try to open my eyes to get a look at my heroine but I'm quickly stopped, "Don't open them. It will only make the burning worse." The mystery girl says, "Rachel, take her to the bathroom and help her get cleaned up. There should be two of my extra t-shirts in your book bag. It might be a little small for your friend but it'll do. I'll see you at home, tell Schue I've got practice today but I'll be there tomorrow."

As I listen to her I can feel my heart beginning to flutter, her voice is husky yet it has this smooth like honey quality to it. It makes butterflies appear in my stomach.

"Thanks S." Rachel replies appreciatively.

"No problem." She replies, suddenly I feel a hand on my damp shoulder. "Welcome to McKinley."

Except for the fact that I was walking around in a stranger's too small black McKinley Athletics t-shirt and I hadn't had the opportunity to ask Rachel who said stranger was the rest of the school day went by fairly smooth. I had only gotten lost once the entire day, which by my standards was a miracle.

* * *

The whole day I had argued with myself back and worth whether to go to audition for the glee club, I wasn't entirely sure if the slushy facials would be worth it. My mind was only made up once I overheard in the hallway at lunch. A smiling African American girl around my age and a clearly gay boy were discussing the rumour of Rachel inviting Vocal Adrenaline's best dancer and McKinley's newest student to join glee club.

"That'll show Jesse St. James not to mess with New Directions, especially Rachel Berry." The girl had said with a clear hint of disgust in her voice.

"Hail Barbra." The boy let out a laugh, "Nobody gives Rachel an egg shampoo and rinse unless it's me."

At the mention of the eggs I instantly knew who Rachel Berry was. Her name had sounded familiar this morning but after the slushy incident I never had the time to question it. They were both right, Jesse St. James was a pompous asshat that needed to be put in his place.

And I was going to be the one to help them do it.

That was exactly how I ended up standing in front of a dozen people showing off my best hip-hop moves to prove myself worthy of being a member of the New Directions. I hadn't even gotten the chance to get to my pop-and-lock before the teacher who ran the club stopped me.

"That is absolutely fantastic, Brittany! Clearly, you're very talented." Everyone in the room clapped, the football player with the Mohawk wolf whistled causing a blush to creep up on my cheeks for the second time that day.

"But what I'm sure everyone here is wondering is if you can sing? Dancing is a big part of what we do but singing is the key piece of our performance."

I can't help but swallow the lump in my throat; this had almost been a problem when I joined Vocal Adrenaline. But I had been lucky enough then that we had enough talented singers to cover the void I created when I lip-synced. But with a group this small I don't think lip-syncing was going to cut it.

"Uhm, I'm not tone deaf and can carry a tune if that's what you're trying to ask." I reply nervously. "When I was in VA there were enough of us that I never actually had to sing, so to be honest I really don't have singing experience but I can try."

He looked back to his team, earning a nod form both Rachel and the girl I had overheard in the hallway. "Well Brittany," he pauses to give me a wide grin. "Welcome to the New Directions!"

* * *

"Brittany, could you come here for a second please?" The teacher who I had learnt was Mr. Schuester called out to me just as I was about to leave the choir room.

I turned around to see him standing beside the piano with Rachel and Mercedes, "No problem, what's up?" I asked as I walked towards them.

"We were wondering if we could talk to you about the history of our glee club and why it's unique if you didn't mind." Mercedes answers with a smile.

"I'm all ears."

"Well there are three captains of the-"

"But I thought Rachel-" I accidentally cut Mercedes off. I forgot to mention I have a filter problem. "Sorry." I blush slightly in embarrassment.

"She is." Mercedes chuckles, "But so are me and Santana."

"Who's Santana?" I might not be great with names but that one I'm sure I'd remember.

"She's my cousin." Rachel answers, "You're wearing her shirt."

"Oh," My embarrassment levels were rising again. "Oh why wasn't she here then?" Santana's previous comment to Rachel about having practice was completely forgotten.

"She's on the varsity lacrosse team so her practices clash with glee club sometimes, usually once every two weeks." Rachel answers quickly.

"Anyways, on with the story," Mercedes chuckles again. "There used to be two glee clubs at McKinley, New Directions and an all female group called the Trouble Tones. Santana, Tina, Sugar and I used to be a part of them as well as a group of Cheerios and lacrosse players that chose to not to become part of this club when the school's budget couldn't handle two glee club. Santana was the only athlete who chose to stay. We were the co-captains of the Trouble Tones so that's why we have three captains to represent both parts of the group."

"Well that sounds pretty awesome, beating the other teams together rather than having to beat each other." I smile.

"The reason why they're telling you this is because we want you to understand that we're not trying to single you out when we ask you if you wouldn't mind the three of them helping you with your singing." Mr. Shuester finally cuts into the conversation.

"We've all worked really hard for this, as one team and as two, to not let you be an asset to this team but we need you to be more than just a dancer. We need you to be a dancer, a singer, and a team player. And we know that just by being on Vocal Adrenaline alone, not even seeing your audition today that you're willing to work hard at this." Mercedes continues on, trying to help him make his point as best as possible.

I can't help but grin widely, I know what it felt like to need to prove yourself and how hard they were working. I got the same feeling every time I took my glasses off to dance; the feeling that if you just work your ass off and make sure you have a good time doing it could make you capable of anything.

"So when do we start?" I chuckle, knowing that if this first meeting was any indication, I was in for one interesting school year.

* * *

"Dad?" I call out as I close the front door behind me. I received no answer but I could hear a small commotion coming from the kitchen, "Dad?"

I pop my head in through the doorway to find Judy managing numerous pots and pulling something out of the oven. Dad was attempting to tie the tie I had bought him last fall for receiving tenure at Ohio State.

"Dad? Why are you putting on a tie now, didn't you just get home from work?"

He clearly hears me as he turns to look at me, his face expressing a look of fear and panic, "Because we're having an important dinner tonight." He says quickly before taking my elbow and ushering me out of the kitchen.

"What important dinner?" I ask as he motions for me to go upstairs, I don't speak again until we're in the confines of my bedroom. "What dinner are you talking about Dad?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I forgot all about it, but I didn't want Judy to know I forgot. We're having a family dinner to celebrate us being finished the move and your first day of school and probably a whole bunch of other things I can't remember."

"If it's family dinner then why are you getting dressed up? Then what am I supposed to wear?"

"You're a girl, I'm sure you've got something to wear."

"Dad, the only dressy thing I own is my Padme Amidala wedding dress replica and I am NOT wearing that anywhere near food! And you didn't say why we we're dressing up!"

"Well, find something Bumble Bee, because Quinn's girlfriend is here, so Judy's making it more fancy cause we have company. Now hurry, Judy is bound to say it's ready at any moment." He was out the door without another word.

After searching through my dresser I managed to find a pair of dress pairs from last year's dance recital number but no shirts that could have been deemed appropriate could be found. Thinking of no other option I went to my dad and Judy's room to borrow one of my Dad's dress shirts. I was lucky enough that my father was a kind of scrawny but tall guy so his shirt would only be a tad bit too big on me.

Plain white dress shirt in hand I left the room only to be stopped by my curiosity about the voices coming from behind the door of Quinn's room across from my own.

"Come on babe, please." Quinn wines ever so slightly. "Can't we just skip this dinner and go right to your place for dessert?" Quinn's voice was barely audible but even Beethoven could have heard the suggestiveness in her tone.

"No, Quinn. We've got to stay here. I've got to meet them some time and you need to learn to get along with them."

I knew that voice; it had that honey like smoothness with an edge that couldn't be replicated.

Oh my Galileo, this was going to be an unusual family dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dear Diary,_

_I have to hurry; I'm going to be late for dinner. I'm terrified. I was about to meeting the infamous Santana. If her voice alone gave me butterflies, I was frightened to know what my reaction would be when I actually saw her. Having a filtering problem definitely was not going to work in my favor tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to keep myself in check._

_Be back later hopefully, __  
__Brittany S. Pierce_

_P.S: Lord Tubbington, please save me if Quinn tries to kill me for saying something inappropriate to her girlfriend._

* * *

I managed to find a belt in my closet that must have been my older sister's at some point to put around my waist to make the shirt not look so box like on me. My hands were practically shaking as I closed the clasp.

'Relax, Pierce. You got this if you just chill out, the stutter and filtering aren't so bad if you're not tense.' I thought to myself as I checked my appearance in the mirror; normally I wouldn't indulge in such a petty act but if I was completely honest I really wanted to look good for Quinn's girlfriend. I wanted to make a good first impression. It was the least I could do after she rescued Rachel and me from those two slushy wielding idiots.

"Girls, supper's ready!" Judy's slightly shrill voice echoes up the stairwell, alerting me it was time to face the music. I rushed out of the room trying, hoping I'd be able to take my usual seat before Quinn or Santana sat there. Plus meeting at the dinner table rather than in the middle of the hall would in all likelihood go much smoother with everyone else as buffer.

I manage to grab my usual seat as my Dad puts his glass of wine on the table. "You okay, Bumble Bee?" He looks at me curiously before taking a seat at the head of the table on my left. "You look a little pale."

Just as with Rachel this morning I don't get the chance to answer. Quinn walks into the room, hand in hand with who I assumed was Santana. She was absolutely beautiful. Her eyes were a brown as warm as her voice, complimenting her long raven hair and high cheekbones.

"Britt?" My father speaks to me once again, alerting to the fact I had been clearly staring.

"Sorry, what?" I tear my attention from Quinn's girlfriend to my father, feeling blush creeping up on my face.

"I asked if you were alright." He smiles at me, clearly trying to not look too worried.

"F-fine D-dad." I stutter. Uh oh, this was not going to be good. "C-Can I be excused f-for a m-moment?"

My face is getting hotter and hotter. Despite the worried look that has formed on his face, he nods. As I get up from the table my gaze accidently meets that of Santana who had apparently sat across the table from me. The look of recognition and a small sympathetic smile on her face only makes me more embarrassed. I'm able to reach the bathroom without any further blunders. I can't help but hope that once I go back to the table Quinn and Judy will be doing most of the talking so I wouldn't be the sideshow for the evening.

As I reach the table after wiping my face over with a cool cloth, I notice Judy had joined them and seemed to be waiting on me to say grace. I wasn't much for religion but I had nothing against Judy's wishes for grace to be said at every meal and for me to visit Sunday services with her every once in a blue moon.

"Let's say grace shall we," she said as I took my seat beside my father and the table's only unoccupied chair. "Dear God, we would like to thank you,"

As Judy continued on with grace I opened my eyes. I'm taken by surprise as I noticed Santana was the only other person at the table with their eyes open. Clearly she notices mine are as well as she gives me yet another smile.

"Thank you." I mouth to her, I never really had the chance to thank her earlier due to the fact as soon as she welcomed me to McKinley she was gone.

"Any time," was all she was able to mouth back before Judy said 'Amen'. We both quickly shut our eyes, bowing our heads and followed Judy's lead as if we had been listening the whole time.

"Well, I supposed introductions are in order aren't they Quinny." Judy says enthusiastically.

"Of course," The eagerness in Quinn's voice is obviously fake; Judy and my father are oblivious.

I can't help but notice that Santana begins to roll her eyes but quickly stops herself before turning her glance to quick, the look in her eyes clearly tell Quinn to 'cut the crap'. Simply from being around them for less than five minutes, three minutes and 42 seconds to be exact, I could tell their relationship was definitely not as great as Judy had described to me. That was a frequent occurrence since Dad had begin to date Judy, practically everything I knew about Quinn I had heard from Judy and those things definitely weren't holding up to be one hundred percent true.

"San, this is Mr. Pierce" Quinn turns her attention to my dad.

My father sticks his hand out for a handshake. She takes his hand, giving it a friendly shake. "Santana Lopez, sir."

"Dan is fine dear." He says with a small laugh.

"Dan it is then." Santana give him a small polite smile.

"This is my daughter, Brittany." My father turns the conversation's focus towards me.

"It's nice to meet you," She acts as if we've never met before, reaching across the table for a handshake. Ironically enough as I stretch out to take it my quickly clamming hand is shaking from nervousness.

Rather than saying the same thing or something that would have been even relatively appropriate I instantly go to this morning's incident. "I-I have y-your s-shirt, I'll w-wash it and b-bring it to g-glee club on T-Thursday."

I can't help but mentally face palm myself for the huge amount of stuttering I had just done.

She gives me a large smile when I pull my hand out of hers, "Don't worry about it. I've got at bunch at home. Rachel told me that you decided to join the glee club so it's probably a good idea that you have a back up wardrobe for occasions such as this morning."

Quinn's eyes look like they're going to pop out of her head in anger; I can see her trying to withhold the grimace that was threatening to cross her face. Something told me that if Dad and Judy weren't here I would be receiving end of a lecture like I had in the car this morning.

"Thank you," I mumble out before taking a long sip of the lemonade Judy had made to go with dinner for us where she and dad had wine.

"I don't understand how they could be so cruel to you kids, all you guys are doing is singing." Judy says, a frown presenting itself on her face. "Though I would have to say Santana its great dear that you're able to be captain of the glee club and the lacrosse team, I don't think I could have done that at your age." I could tell that Judy was trying to talk Santana up to dad; Judy was a nice lady but she truly valued appearances way too much.

"Thanks, Judy. It's been rough the past two weeks trying to get ready for sectionals for glee and tomorrow night's home opener for lacrosse. I think I got it down though, luckily Rachel and Mercedes are great co-captains for glee." Santana say assertively, without a doubt trying to give credit where it was due.

As I take my first bite of chicken I can't help but notice that at the mention of Rachel's name Quinn's facial expression change. Her masked anger has changed to a look of discomfort and would I could only describe as guilt, but for what that guilt was for I had no idea.

"Brittany, you should come to the game tomorrow night, Quinn will be cheering for the team and I'm sure the Berry's will be there so you could sit with Rachel. You definitely don't want to miss the home opener, the energy is great." Judy was extremely enthusiastic about this game. Her long-winded suggestion sounded more like something I'd expect from Rachel Berry herself.

"You definitely should, glee club isn't the only great thing about McKinley." I look up from my plate to find Santana looking at me with a somewhat hopeful smile on her face; who could say no to that.

"S-sure, I'll ask R-Rachel about it tomorrow." I answer before going back to my plate, shoveling my fork full of three cheese noodles.

Soon enough the conversation had drifted away from me and I was able to eat in peace without another fit of stuttering.

* * *

"I g-got the dishes." I say as Santana begins to start tiding the table. It was quickly established that since Judy cooked one of the three of us would clear away the table and do the dishes; tonight was my turn.

"It's no problem, I can help." She replies quickly, obviously trying not to be a rude guest. Could she be any sweeter?

"You don't have to San; you said you'd help me with me my homework remember?" Quinn places a hand on Santana's arm, attempting to lure away from the table.

"You go on upstairs and get started, I'll be up once I'm done helping Brittany. It shouldn't take too long."

Quinn huffs at her response, letting go of Santana's arm. "Haven't you helped her enough today, I'm sure C3PO here can manage on her own."

"Quinn!" Santana yells at her, surprised at Quinn's comment. "Stop it!"

"Why? She knows I don't like her so what's the point Santana." Quinn crosses her arms defensively, clearly trying to get her way. The more time I spent with her the more I realized that Quinn was much like a child that if they didn't get their way would throw a tantrum left, right and center.

"Are you serious Quinn? You're being extremely rude, and that is coming from me and trust me, I wrote the book on rude once upon a time if you remember." Santana was quick to put her in her place, which truly surprised me.

"I remember alright, but I guess you're past that. Why don't you just stay here with Dorkatron and I'm sure she'll show you out when the two of you are done."

Neither Santana nor I get the chance to respond as Quinn turns around leaving us alone in the dining room. Before we knew it the sound of her bedroom door slamming echoed through the house.

As Santana looked back to me I immediately felt like I had to apologize to her, "I-I'm sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for? You haven't done anything wrong." Her voice is softer than I expected, having changed from her firm tone she had used with Quinn.

"I-I didn't mean to c-cause any t-trouble." I spit out, trying to avoid stuttering though I ultimately failed. I hadn't stutter this much since the beginning of freshman year when the director of Vocal Adrenaline used to scare the living daylights out of me, thankfully I had gotten used to him by the time I was asked to become assistant choreographer after Christmas break. There was something about Santana that seemed to cause my mind to go to that place where my stuttering and filtering was hardwired.

"It's not your fault, I'm really sorry about the way she's been treating you. She's having a hard time not having her dad around but that's not an excuse. You're going through this too, so it's not like she's alone in this. She told me about the conversation in the car this morning, you're trying and she's not. So don't be sorry, she need to stop being such a brat."

"I, uh..." was all that came out of my mouth. I honestly did not know what to say to her. It was clear that at this moment she was just as impressed with Quinn as I was; not in the slightest.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to go off like that at you. She's just really frustrating sometime, ya know?" Santana looks up from the stack of plates she's created on the table, lifting them up into her arms.

I simply smile slightly, giving her a nod to let her know I understood.

"Let's get started shall we?" She chuckles before heading towards the kitchen.

Washing dishes has never been so appealing.

* * *

"I'm so excited that you're coming to tonight's game. We go all out at the Berry house for Santana. You should totally come over before the game." Rachel said when I asked about the lacrosse home opener.

And of course I couldn't say no, so that was how I ended up at the Berry's house after supper. Rachel wasn't kidding when they said that they go all out. Soon as I had walked through the door Santana's uncle, who just happened to be one of Rachel's dad, was quick to hand me a piece of cake he had made for Santana.

"Oh, thanks." I gave him a small smile before walking into the family room where Leroy had said Rachel was.

I'm taken aback when I find not only Rachel but Santana, Quinn, and a man and women who I assumed was Santana's mother and Rachel's other dad. The room is decorated with red and black streamers, the cake a had a piece of sitting on the coffee table reading 'Good Luck San' the rest of her name has been cut off having being eaten. Quinn's dressed in her Cheerios uniform while Rachel and the rest of Santana's family wore red McKinley lacrosse t-shirts and have red grease lines across their cheeks. I can't help but feel slightly under dressed, in my Captain America hoodie and black jeans.

"Hey Brittany! Come on in!" Rachel motions to the seat between her and Mrs. Lopez on the couch.

Hesitantly I walk across the room, taking a seat. I take a bite of cake hoping it will stop Rachel or anyone else in the room for that matter, from expecting me to make conversation. My taste buds erupt pleasantly, the cake tastes as if it was delivered from heaven by gods.

"This c-cake is am-mazing." I stutter out.

As I look up from my plate, it's clear that I've taken them by surprise with my stutter. Santana's mother is look back and forth from Rachel and Santana as if to subtly ask what was wrong with me.

Rachel cuts the slight tension by responding. "I'll let daddy know you like it, he'll probably make it more often if he knows you like it considering you live next door. Lessons are definitely going to be more convenient considering me and Santana live under the same roof and you're just next door." Rachel answers sweetly, I can sense the slightly sympathy in her voice that was brought about by my stutter. I had forgotten she hadn't heard it yet.

"I heard that I was going to have to give you a few pointers, Pierce." Santana chuckles and Quinn shuffles slightly in her lap. "I'm going to make you work for it, you know that right?" A devilish grin crosses her face.

"B-bring it on." I smirk at her, surprising myself with my slight confidence.

"I think it's time to get going soon, isn't it?" Mrs. Lopez cuts in just as Quinn opens her mouth to speak, without a doubt saving me from another infamous Fabray comeback. "Hurry up and get your thing Santanita, you don't want Coach Bieste to be angry at her captain for being a bad captain do we know?"

"Yes Mami. Let's go Quinn." Santana says, patting her on the leg to get up off of her so they could leave. "We'll meet you guys after the game. Thanks for the dinner again, Mami." As Santana gets up to leave she places a kiss on her mother's cheek before following Quinn out of the living room.

"It was nice to meet you Brittany. I think there's an extra McKinley long sleeve if you'd like to borrow it dear, I'm sure Rachel could get for you." Santana's mother gives me as smile as she gets up off the couch.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lopez." The smile on Mrs. Lopez's face falters slight in surprise out of my lack of stutter but quickly goes back into shape.

Rachel grins, "Let's make a McKinley Titan out of you."

Never in a million years did I think that I, Brittany S. Pierce, would ever be at a house party at some random person's house. Luckily, I had been wrong. Santana had invited Rachel and me to the victory party at her friend Puck's house as soon as her mom left to go back to the car.

* * *

As soon as we arrived I was actually kind of shocked at how out of control the party had gotten and it was only ten o'clock. "Keep an eye on your drinks at all time, if you go to the bathroom go together, and whatever happens do not let anyone man handle you. If you guys have a problem, just give me a call and I'll be over to go all Lima Heights Adjacent on their douche bag ass."

"Thanks Tana." Rachel thankfully answers for the two of us, allowing me to hold onto my dignity again for a few moments.

"See you guys later." She says quick as she hauled towards the dance floor by Quinn.

The dancing going on in the middle of the living room was both horrendous and arousing at the same time. It was unfortunate sometimes that I practically had the mind of a teenage boy; the dancer in me wanted to criticize how appalling their technique was but the part of my brain where that teenage boy was located was saying 'who cares about their technique when they look like that'.

"Hi." I'm shaken out of my trance by the sound of a boy's voice standing next to me.

"H-hi." I reply as I turn to take a look at the stranger. His mohawk and football letterman jacket gave away his identity; Noah Puckerman.

"I wouldn't say that this was your scene Blondie, so whatcha doin' here?" He grins, clearly trying to flirt with me.

"It's Brittany actually and not usually but I thought I'd try something new for a change." I chuckle.

"Can I get you a drink?" His politeness catches me off guard.

"Sure thing, a corona and keep the top on it." As soon as the words are out of my mouth he gives me a wink before he's gone.

"You shouldn't accept drinks from strangers you know." A blonde boy with goofy lips I recognize from glee club comes around the corner. "For what it's worth though, I like your shirt."

I look down at me t-shirt; I changed into my Star Wars Millennium Falcon t-shirt after we had gotten home from the game. "Thanks, but do you even know what it is?" I was used to getting hit on a dance competition and guy liking my shirt was the usual pick up line even though half of them didn't know what fandom the shirt was even from.

"Of course, Han Solo's Millennium Falcon, the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs." He's fully impressed me now, his ability to quote Han Solo made me sure he wasn't being an ass trying to get in my pants.

"Impressive, sir." I chuckle at him.

"Sam Evans, I'm Mercedes boyfriend and I'm in glee club but I'm sure you knew that. Trying to remember all those new names is rough isn't it? When I first moved here I called Santana Tina once and she threatened to cut off my balls. She's something else alright." He chuckles.

"You're definitely right about that one," I giggle just as Puck comes back with my drink.

"Corona, cap on as requested m'lady." He bows slightly as he passes me the clear glass bottle. I twist the cap off and take a sip; missing the usual fizz of a sound it made when opened assuming that I couldn't hear it over the sound of the music.

"Well I'll see you around Brittany, if you ever want to discuss any other sci-fi or comic related topics just give me a holler." Sam smiles before heading towards Mercedes who was dancing with Kurt on the makeshift dance floor.

Before I'm just about to take another sip of my beer when Santana's voice rings through my ears, "Brittany, put the bottle down." Her voice firm and filled with concern

"W-what w-why?" My voice comes out as a weird mixture of a stutter and a slur. I may have questioned her but I do as she says, lowering the bottle from my lips.

"Puckerman, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Santana yells, getting up in Puck's face while her own reddens in fury; if looks could kill. "You know who the hell she is, dickwad? _She's not a whore you can fuck just to get rid of your blue balls, you idiot. _She's Quinn's step-sister, asshole." The mixture of English and Spanish coming from Santana's mouth is slightly frightening, if she wasn't defending me something tells me I'd be shaking right now.

The look of pure terror on Puck's face would be priceless if it wasn't for the fact Santana looked like she was about to have an aneurysm. Even under all that terror I was still able to see the look of guilt that flashed across his face when Santana mentioned Quinn to Puck. What was it with guilt with people at McKinley? What was with my internal rambling? Do I always ramble this much? Do I do it out loud in public? I should ask my dad, he'd tell me.

"W-what are you talking about Lopez? I did exactly as she asked." Puck spit out looking down at Santana, trying to use his height to intimidate her.

"Stop shitting me, Puckerman. I saw you, you idiot." Santana responds, poking her finger into his chest. "You took the bottle from Azimo and Karofsky's special stash and don't you dare tell me you didn't know because I saw you ask them first."

Santana was getting really mad. I didn't want Puck to hurt her. I had to do something. I try to lay my bottle on the counter to help get Santana away from Puck but it turns into a disaster. My bottle misses the counter entirely and ends up smashing against the linoleum floor, soaking the feet of Santana, Puck and myself.

"Oh, S-Santana I'm s-sorry. H-here let me clean your shoes." I begin to crouch down to the floor, completely oblivious to the fact that I have nothing to clean her shoes with. "T-T-they're very pretty, l-like you. Y-you're r-really really pretty." The words are out of my mouth before I can even think about stopping them.

No one says anything. I only feel a familiar hand on my shoulder and another wrapping around my waist. "Come on Britt, up you go." I feel the arms beginning to pull and moments later I'm back on my feet. I turn to see warm brown eyes looking at me with concern. "Brittany how many drinks did you have?"

"J-just the one on your shoes. W-well obviously n-not what's on your shoes but that was what was left of what I drank. J-just not even one." I'm quite certain what I said didn't need to be so complicated and probably didn't make any sense to her but Santana's eyes tell me she doesn't mind; they softened as soon as my stutter kicked when I began to speak.

"Santana I didn't do it," Puck says. He's still trying to convince Santana he's innocent of her accusation.

"Just like you didn't sleep with my girlfriend."

As soon as the words are out of Santana's mouth, the entire house goes silent; only the sound of the bass from the sound system bounding reaching my ears.

"Let's go Britt." Santana keeps her arm wrapped around my waist, before beginning to lead me carefully out of the house mindful of the broken glass at our feet.

If tonight was any indication, they were definitely on to something with Murphy's Law.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Just FYI, the flashback is in bold and italicized. So keep that in mind when you read! **

* * *

The fact I had woken up with a headache was soon forgotten as I realized I wasn't in my bed. Sitting up faster than I thought was humanly possible I look around the room. I don't recognize the black blobs I've assumed are furniture or the charcoal grey walls; the blurry posters on the walls were definitely different than those I had on my own. Where the hell was I?

"Good morning." I practically jump out of the bed at the sound of Santana's voice coming from across the room.

"H-hi" My heartbeat finally begins to slow down as I realize I was in Santana's room. Wait! I was in Santana's room, which means I was in Santana Lopez's bed! My heartbeat increases once again in embarrassment, a blush creeping up on my cheeks.

"I'm assuming you can't see anything right now." Santana's chuckle echoes throughout the room.

"N-not really n-no." Before I can pull myself out of the bed, a warm grab on my wrist stops me.

"Here" I can see the blurry figure of Santana kneeling down in front of me; her arms come towards me slowly placing my glasses on my face. "There, that's better huh?"

I can instantly feel the blush creep up on my face as I take Santana's striking features. Her usual cool, calm and collected to demeanor had returned after last night yet I could still see pain in her eyes.

"Umm, I brought you breakfast," I look over on the desk to find a box of Lucky Charms. "Quinn mentioned once that it was the only thing you'll eat for breakfast."

"I'm sorry." The words are out of my mouth before I even get the chance to stutter. Santana only raises her eyebrow in response. "A-about Quinn."

"Oh, that." A look of hurt crosses her features for moment but is gone again at Millennium Falcon speed. "I'm sorry about last night. I should have known better than to not forget to mention not to ever take a drink from Puck."

"It's o-okay. The moh-hawk should have b-been my first c-clue. W-why didn't you break up sooner?" I can't believe I just said that. Damn filter. "I s-shouldn't have s-said that. I-I'm sorry."

"A bit too heavy of a topic for first thing in the morning, come on and eat your breakfast we'll talk later." A sad smile crosses Santana face as she shakes the box of Lucky Charms.

"T-thanks." I get up out of the bed, taking a seat on a large black ottoman next to her at the desk.

"Not a problem." She replies, pouring both her and myself a bowl followed by a glass of apple juice. "Is apple okay? I should have asked before I poured it but-"

"I-It's fine." I say, interrupting her adorable rambling. "Y-you didn't have to do this."

"Yes, I did. Us New Directions got to stick together." She motions back and forth between us, drawing attention to my attire. My Star Wars t-shirt and black jeans had been replaced with a tight fitting black Troubletones 2010 t-shirt and a pair of bright red basketball shorts that were shorter on me than they would be an average height girl. Clearly, my surprise at my outfit had shown on my face as Santana speaks again. "Yeah I didn't think that you'd be comfortable in your clothes from last night and lent them to you. You don't remember?"

My mind runs through last night's cloudy memories, eventually stumbling upon the moment in question.

* * *

_**"Come on, Brittany. Time for bed." Santana's voice sounds like I'm underwater. I wish I was swimming right now, I love diving. I bet I'd be wicked good if I actually went to lessons like I did with dancing. "Brittany, are you even listening?"**_

_**"Y-yes, I am l-listening. Santana, c-can we go s-swimming? I'm r-really really w-warm." Logic went straight out the window as my hands take a mind of their own begin to take off my pants and t-shirt revealing the lightsaber decorated underwear set my dad had bought for me as a joke. Lightsabers are no laughing matter.**_

_**"Brittany, what the heck are you doing?" The look on Santana's face is almost indescribable; my best guess would be a mixture of pleasant surprise and concern. Though there's a possibility I could be wrong considering I highly doubted Santana found lightsabers as interesting as I did.**_

_**"G-getting ready to go s-swimming. People w-wear underwear to swim some t-times right?"**_

_**"Yes, they do but we're not going swimming." Santana averts her eyes by heading to her dresser. "We're going to sleep, so put these on." Hands over her eyes she passes me a bundle of clothes.**_

_**"If I'm going to sleep with you, I think it would be a hell of a lot easier if I wasn't wearing these." I wave around the clothing in my hand.**_

_**"Brittany, put the clothes on and get in the bed. If I come back here in five minutes and you haven't done what I've asked I'm bringing you to my mother to deal with. Do you understand?"**_

_**Despite the completely serious look on Santana's face I can tell that she probably wants to laugh at me. My ex told me I was a pretty big hoot when I drank, though I didn't drink that much even if I felt like I did. Or did I drink that much I can't really remember.**_

_**"Brittany? Did you hear me?" She hesitantly places her hand on my bare arm.**_

_**"Ma'am yes, ma'am." I smirk at the realization I didn't stutter. Brittany 1, Stutter zero… plus infinity.**_

* * *

"Oh d-dear god." My face instantly burns up with a blush as I bury it in my hands. Roofies and I clearly do not get along. "I am s-so sorry."

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault. You wouldn't have done that if Puck never slipped you those roofies. Or at least I don't think you would." She chuckles before giving me a soft smile causing me to blush even more, if that's possible. "I'm just joking."

I take a spoonful from the bowl of Lucky Charms Santana had set out for me, cereal only, trying to avoid responding. Thankfully it works, the rest of breakfast is spent in almost completely silence, the only sound coming from the chewing of cereal or the sipping of juice.

"I think I better get you home before your dad or Judy starts to worry. Thankful Rachel was able to cover for you and texted your dad and told him we were all having a sleepover to bond for glee club." Clearly Santana was good at lying, or at least telling little white lies. I definitely wouldn't have been able to come up with something like that on a whim.

"Uh, I guess. T-Thanks again." I respond reluctantly, I was hoping to spend more time with Santana where I actually remembered what happened and didn't make a huge fool out of myself.

"Not a problem. I'll just bring this down and you can get changed. Meet you downstairs in fifteen?" Santana begins to pile up the dishes onto a tray before giving me yet another smile.

I nod, not trusting myself enough to not say something stupid or something I shouldn't.

Before I know it she's out the door, leaving me alone in her bedroom. I take the time now to study Santana's room. The charcoal of the walls was contrasted by the deep red bed spread, and posters including the likes of Alanis Morissette, Amy Winehouse, and a random large X-Men poster.

Clearly, I knew less about Santana Lopez than I thought I did.

* * *

Sluggishly making my way up to my room after thanking Santana once again, I'm taken by surprise by a commotion in the porch. Even with just sticking my head out so that my eyes are just past the door frame the look on Santana's face is heartbreaking. The conflict behind her eyes that she was clearly trying to hide made her look like a young child.

"Quinn, I don't know what to say." Santana's voice is surprisingly soft, much unlike the intensity to her usual tone.

"Then don't say anything," I can barely see Santana, but the action of Quinn wiping the tears from her cheeks was unmistakable. "Let me do the talking."

"I can't," Santana voice has become slightly more forceful, less of a ghost of its usual self.

"I won't give up on you, Santana. I know that you probably hate me right now, and I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I didn't think I ever could but I did." Quinn sounds like she's choking back a sob. "I know that I don't deserve a second chance but I love you. I love you and I don't think I can let you go."

As much as I wished Santana was interested in me and no matter how much I'm not fond of Quinn Fabray, my step-sister sounded pretty damn convincing and remorseful.

Something tells me this situation was not going to end up in my favor.

As per usual, I was correct. Returning to school on Monday it was impossible to ignore the sight of Quinn practically attached to Santana's hip. She was hanging on her every word, acting like a lost puppy. Despite how every time I saw them together my heart dropped, I was happy to see a small sliver of Santana's usual spark back in her eyes.

"You ready, Pierce?" The sound of Santana's voice almost causes me to drop my physics textbook. I manage to fumble it back into my arms without injury to my toes, surely making myself look like more of a klutz than I usually was.

"Huh?" was the only word to come out of my mouth. Then again it was suiting considering I had no idea of what Santana was referring to.

"Your first lesson with Rach, ya know? After glee today?" She chuckles as I begin to nod in realization. "Us Espinozas are tough, you better be ready for some tough love from the hobbit 'cause she gonna to tell ya straight up how it is. Comprende?"

Her slight use of her ghetto talk causes me to laugh a little, earning myself a smile. "C-comprende." My response is interrupted by the fifth period warning bell.

"I better let you get to class. Wouldn't want the future valedictorian to be late now would we?" She gives me a wink before disappearing down the crowded hallway.

Apparently, someone told her about my high academic ability and something told me she wasn't likely to forget about it.

* * *

"Come one everybody, take a seat." Mr. Schuester booms as he enters the choir room. "Let's get down to business. This week's lesson is going to be a tough one." The top of his white board marker squeaks as he writes this week's one-word lesson on the board.

"Uh, do you really think this is a good idea Mr. Schue?" Mercedes is the one to speak up. Her tone alone told me that she thought this was going to turn into a train wreck.

"Yes, Mercedes. I think this is a perfectly good way to clear the air in this room before sectionals." There was no doubt in his mind this going to go off without a hitch.

"Mr. Schue, I agree with Mercedes." Rachel begins to protest but is quickly silenced.

"I appreciate your guys' concern but we're doing this lesson. Anger is something every single one of you has for something in this world whether you bottle it up and let it out. It may be towards a situation, a thing, or maybe even towards a person in this room. I want to give you guy an outlet to safely get rid of this anger so that we all have a fresh mind ready to prepare for sectionals."

After his small speech, he is quick to pass out sheet music for this week's group number. I'm pleasantly surprised to find the alto section highlighted on my sheets. I'm put in an even better mood when I realized what the song was; Sing by My Chemical Romance. If this song choice was the group number for the week, I was definitely excited to see what my fellow glee club members were going to choose for their own songs.

"So what did you think of this week's lesson, Brittany?" Rachel asks me as we pull into her driveway. She had offered me a ride home after glee club after I arrived at the parking lot and Quinn's car was nowhere to be found. She had said it was no big deal considering I was going to her house anyhow.

"I hope that it doesn't turn into a blood bath. That's all I've got to say." I didn't mention how I thought the group number was going to be brilliant. Rachel's face had screwed up when she was first give the song; I don't think she had ever heard of My Chemical Romance before today. I was going to mention it but I managed to stop myself.

"I completely agree. Do you have a song in mind? I'd be completely happy to help you work on it considering it is my turn this week to mentor you."

To be perfectly honest, I hadn't really thought of what I was going to sing. I was way too wrapped up in trying to guess what song Santana was going to sing. I could see a flash of excitement cross her face when Mr. Schue wrote 'anger' on the white board. It was perfectly clear to everyone who had met Santana's Lima Height Adjacent side that she had something she was angry about. Nobody who was perfectly content that could turn rage off and on like a switch like she did.

"No, not yet. I'll try to think of one when I get home." I give her a soft smile. I definitely didn't want her to think that I wasn't taking glee club seriously.

"Well in that case, we'll probably just do some scales today so I can figure out your range. We could try to find a song if we have time, okay?"

"Sounds great. Did you pick a song yet?" I was hoping she already had because I really didn't think I could help her find a song, she was Rachel Berry after all.

"I do believe so. This has been something I've want to get off my chest and I think this is the perfect way to do it." She gives me a wide smile as she unlocks the front door of the house.

"Well that's great." I give her a nod before following her into the house.

* * *

About halfway through the scales Rachel had planned on going through with me I practically dived under the living room baby grand piano to hide at the sound of the front door slamming.

"Brittany?" I could barely hear Rachel's voice above the sound of what I assumed were Spanish expletives echoing through the house. "Brittany, it's okay. It's only Santana. It's okay." Her tone was soft and comforting enough to stop the whimpers that were threatening to escape from my mouth.

As the shouting continues I'm surprised to hear Rachel shout back, "Santana, stop it!" The tone of Rachel's voice does the trick as the shouting turns into grumbling. It's only completely silenced when another slam of a door signals Santana had gone to her room caused me to startle again.

"Brittany, you can come out now." The irony of Rachel's word is not lost on me as she leaned down to try to coax me out from under the piano. "No one's going to hurt you, you're safe here okay?"

Rachel reaches her hand out as if to help pull me out. She leaves it there for me to take, not trying to force me if I wasn't ready. I take a few deep breaths before looking from her hand to her face. I was surprised to find a lack of pity in her face; all I could see was concern and compassion. Two things I had previously told by Jesse St. James that Rachel Berry was incapable of.

Of course, being the doofus he was, Jesse was wrong about that.

Slowly, I reach out and take Rachel's hand. Before long I'm sitting on the couch with a glass of water in my hands.

"My dads always give me a glass of water to help me feel better when I need it." Rachel's voice was unusually calm as she sat in the armchair next to the couch, only a gap created by a small side table between us.

"Thanks." I said before taking a long gulp, nearly finishing off the whole glass.

"Did you want to talk about it?" I could tell her question wasn't one made out of purely human curiosity; she was generally wondering if I thought I'd feel better if I talked about it.

"My mom used to slam the front door after she had been drinking a lot. At first it was only once every two weeks or so. Eventually it became an everyday occurrence, sometimes even twice a day. Every time she'd come home and slam the door my older sister would hide me under the dining room table or one of our beds. Sometimes we didn't have much time so I'd have to hide behind the couch."

I take a quick break in my story to drink the rest of my water.

"She'd hide me to protect me from my own mother, so I wouldn't get hurt or have to watch my mom hurt her. Sometimes we'd both get hurt, sometimes she'd be too drunk to even make it past the front porch and she'd pass out on the floor." I could see Rachel's eyes widen in shock as I continued on. "After my dad found out he tried for years to get custody. Where the courts try to keep children with their mother and he couldn't prove my mom's abuse, we didn't get to live with him until after the accident."

"Um, how long did you live with her?" I could sense Rachel's hesitance in asking question. I had learnt quickly over the past few days of knowing her she really wasn't quite the type to pry.

"My parents got divorced when I was six and the drinking didn't start until I was about eight or nine. I lived with her until I was thirteen, which was when the accident happened."

"Was everyone okay?"

"Thankfully, everyone was pretty much fine except for me. I got the short end of that stick."

I can't help but laugh slightly. I remember the doctors telling me that I was lucky, that if I had been any shorter than I was the damage would have been much more severe. I remember being thankful that I had called shotgun that day and not my sister; despite being two years my senior, after my first growth spurt she was at least three inches shorter than I was at the time.

"I'm terribly sorry that happened to you, Brittany." Rachel takes hold of my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. "How long did it take for you to recover? Catching up on school must not have been too bad considering who you are." She gives me a small smile.

Clearly, my father must have been bragging about my intelligence in front of Quinn; who had likely mention it to Santana who mentioned it to Rachel. Sure, I was in all AP classes but that didn't mean everyone automatically assumed I was Stephen Hawking 2.0.

I think over her question in my mind. I've always thought that there had been two parts to my recovery; the part that allowed me to be physically capable of doing things I loved like dancing, and the part that allowed me to live a fully capable social life. Honestly, ever since the beginning of my recovery I knew that one of those parts could never recover completely.

"I never did. Not fully anyhow." The words that come out of my mouth feel like I've taken part of the weight off my shoulders.

Rachel doesn't say anything for a few moments. I wait patiently to see if she can get there on her own. It takes less time than I expected before she asks, "Is that why you…"

"Stutter?" I fill in the end of her hanging question, hoping it would dissipate any awkwardness. "Yes, that is why."

It doesn't take very long before I can see the cogs turning in Rachel's mind, much like Mrs. Lopez's had, wondering why I rarely stuttered around her but turned into a stuttering mess in front of Santana.

"I went to speech therapy for three years for the stuttering, the filtering problem that I got from the accident I've had to try and work on my own. The filtering takes the most self control; I've had to learn a lot of it all over again."

"Then why do you stutter in front of Santana?" I don't even get the chance to answer her question before she's apologizing. "I shouldn't have asked that. I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that."

"Rachel, it's okay."

This time it's my turn to give her hand a squeeze of reassurance. "It happens with certain people. It's like all the effort I put into learning to filtering and stop stuttering created a switch in my brain. And sometimes certain people turn that switch off."

It probably sounded silly but it was the only way I knew how to it explain it to her.

"So it's only with certain people then?"

"Well that, and if I'm really anxious about something." I laugh, hoping she doesn't feel awkward.

"So are you attracted to any of these certain people as much as you are to my cousin?" Rachel's question is emphasized by a wink.

"Hey!" I give her the best glare I can out of embarrassment.

"Well, your cheeks practically turn as red as a fire engine whenever she's mentioned or you talk to her. It's not like we're blind, Brittany." Rachel laughs.

"Fine, I'll give you that one." Rachel's laugh becomes more of a childlike giggle at my admission of being attracted to Santana. "And to answer your question, no, most definitely not." There was no way I was attracted to Quinn or my mother.

"You know that phrase, 'can't live with em', can't live without 'em'? That's the way Santana and Quinn have always been that way, ever since Uncle-" Rachel stops short, clearly realizing she was about to say something she shouldn't. "I think Santana should be the one to tell you this story. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's okay. I've only ever seen them together since I've moved in and even I can tell that there's something not right there. I'm going to assume since I managed to pick out Quinn's name within all that Spanish she's what had Santana so riled up."

A chuckle escapes from her lips before she responds. "Well, let's just say that I think you'd be much better for Santana." Rachel gives me a soft smile, almost like she was giving me permission to take a gamble on Santana.

"Thanks." At my response I can feel my cheeks begin to heat up from the blush creeping upon my face.

Rachel's mouth widens into a five star smile. "Now, how about those scales?"

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_How someone as great as Santana ended up with a girl like Quinn is a complete anomaly. That is all._

_Brittany S. Pierce_


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! I know this chapter is shorter than the other ones, but I wanted to get the ball rolling as soon as possible on this story. Please tell me what you think. Please review and tell me where you want this to go! You can add me on Tumblr. I'm under AmbushHunter.**

**GleekforHemo- I love Nerd!Brittany too!**

**Yu-Thanks! Don't worry about Quinn; I have something in mind for her later on! **

**Anonomix- Thank you for letting me know! **

**Easylion- Thank you! I will be continuing with the story! **

* * *

I woke up to find Quinn glaring down at me. I reared back, hitting my head against the wall. "Ow! Shit!" Pain flashed through my skull, and I groaned.

"Careful Dorkatron, we wouldn't want you to addle your brains." Quinn's hazel eyes showed no compassion or remorse. "Well, no more than they already have been that is."

I rubbed my head as I sat up, glaring at her. I glanced over at my clock to see that it was 6:45 am. I glanced back at Quinn to see her gesturing at me to get closer. I eyed her suspiciously, but she rolled her eyes waving me over once more.

I cautiously shuffled over by her and squeaked in surprise when she suddenly grabbed my head, pulling it towards her. She tilted it to the sides, searching for something. One of her hands came up and grazed the top of my head, delicately touching where I had bumped my head. She abruptly dropped my head, stepping away from her with her arms crossed.

"We need to have a little chat, nerd." Scary Quinn was back in full force. It was a little disconcerting to see how quickly she could change emotions.

"Ab-bout w-what?" And now my stutter is back.

"Your little 'crush' on my girlfriend. It ends…_now_." Her left eyebrow twitched up and she gave me a piercing gaze. "And don't try any of that 'I don't like her' bullshit, because it's obvious you do. I don't blame you for having a crush on my girlfriend, she's friendly, she's hot, and she's nice to you. You're probably not used to that. But let me make myself very clear. She is MY girlfriend. She's with me, and you will NOT have her. Comprende?"

"C-comp-prende."

"Good. I have to leave for practice, so Rachel's picking you up." Quinn began walking towards the door but before she left the room she paused and looked back at me. "And take some Advil for your head. You'll probably have a headache if you don't."

* * *

I had just finished my Lucky Charms when Rachel pulled into the driveway, honking to alert me to her arrival. I scrambled to grab my X-Men backpack while putting on my jacket. As I stumbled out the door, I managed to get my stuck in between the strap and the sleeve. I heard a car door slam and looked up to see Rachel coming to my rescue.

"Stay still, your strap is caught in your sleeve." After a few moments of struggling and maneuvering, I was finally unstuck.

"Thanks Rach."

"I'm always happy to help out a friend. Now, have you chosen a song to sing yet?"

"I have!" I said excitedly, having spent three hours last night pouring over the contents of my iPod trying to find a song I could sing. When I had found one that didn't make me sound like a cow giving birth I had nearly cried in relief.

"Excellent! Now, when you perform don't be nervous. No one in glee will judge you for your singing abilities or lack thereof. Don't forget that Mercedes, Santana, and I will still be helping you with your vocal lessons."

"Okay, thanks Rac-" I was cut off by a loud squeal.

"Oh my god! What is that?!" I frantically looked around before spying Lord Tubbington sitting on the porch.

"That's Lord Tubbington! He's really sensitive about his weight though. We've had him on a bunch of different diets but they don't work. His doctor says there's something wrong with his thyroid." I waved at him before climbing into Rachel's car. "Bye Tubbs! Be good while I'm gone!"

* * *

We had barely walked through the doors when we were assaulted by a shrieking Kurt. My arm was almost yanked out on its socket when he roughly grabbed me. He was surprisingly strong for someone of his stature.

"What are you wearing?!"

I looked down at my outfit. I was wearing a black T-shirt with the Mario Brothers Star on it. My jeans were a bit baggy and were being held up with my awesome Avenger's belt. I thought I looked hot.

"What's wrong with my outfit?" I looked up at him and pouted, giving him my best wounded expression. He looked confused before shaking his head and pointing at Rachel.

"Not you Britt. You look fine. Our favorite little diva here on the other hand looks like she was dressed by a toddler. I thought I told you to get rid of the Argyle! We went shopping two weeks ago for new outfits remember?" He then turned back to me. "And for the love of god, put that pout away. You made me feel guilty for no reason! Now, if you'll excuse us, I have to show Rachel the benefits of not dressing like herself."

I waved goodbye to them as I meandered to my locker. Rachel had picked me up earlier than necessary and there were still twenty minutes until first period started. As I walked down the hallway, I noticed someone leaning up against my locker. He looked rather familiar, but I couldn't place his face. When he saw me approach he straightened up, giving me a cheesy grin.

Memories flooded back and I remembered where I knew him from. He was the guy at the party that gave me the spiked drink. I abruptly stopped, feeling nervous to be around him. He must have noticed my hesitance because he put his hands up in a calming manner.

"Yo, I promise I'm not going to do anything to you. I umm…" He paused, running his hand through the strip of hair on his head. "I actually wanted to apologize. What I did…and what I was going to do wasn't cool, and I'm sorry." His head was hung in shame and he seemed sincerely sorry about it, so I decided to forgive him.

"Apology accepted. You said your name was Puck right?"

He perked up, the cheesy grin still overtaking his face. Puck nodded enthusiastically while continuing to run his hand through his hair.

"So, what's with the mohawk? It's not a common hairstyle." His grin turned lewd, and I instantly knew I had asked the wrong question. I braced myself for whatever inappropriate answer would fall from his mouth.

"It's to give the girls something to hold on to while they take a joyride on the Puckster…if you catch my drift."

Only an idiot would need to ask what he meant with that statement. I shook my head and opened up my locker, grabbing the books I would need for my first three classes. I had Chemistry, English, and US History. Two of those three were with Quinn, and one was with Rachel, leaving me completely alone for US History. Not that I could sit near Quinn for Chemistry or English anyways. She had made that perfectly clear, our creepy semi-sisterly moment this morning be damned. Suddenly Puck's voice broke through my thoughts.

"So…what class do you have first?"

"AP Chem." He looked surprised.

"Damn that's a hard class. Are you smart or something?"

"I guess you could say that. I'm not like, a genius or anything but I'm not dumb either."

"Don't listen to her. She's a total genius. She's on track to be our valedictorian. What's your GPA again? 4.3?" Santana's silky voice cut through our conversation causing my tummy to twist and turn. She was leaning against the lockers next to me, her right arm bent and holding her weight. Her dark, raven hair was lightly curled and fell down around her shoulders. She winked at me and I felt my cheeks erupt with heat. "She's the smartest girl I know. And she needs to head to class before she's late. Want me to walk you? "

I nodded and turned to wave bye to Puck, but he was already halfway down the hallway. I felt a nudge on my side and looked down to see Santana's arm outstretched. I looped my arm through hers and she lead me to my class.

"So, I heard that you're going to sing today during glee?" I nodded, biting my lower lip. I saw her glance down at it before refocusing on my eyes. "I have to say I'm kind of excited. I heard you practice a bit yesterday and you sound like a pretty good singer, so I wouldn't be worried if I were you."

"Th-thank y-you." Santana gave me a blinding smile and gently bumped her shoulder against mine.

"It's no problem." She suddenly stopped. I looked up to realize we had reached my classroom. "I'll see you later okay?"

"O-okay."

I turned and walked into the room, immediately spotting Quinn. She was seated almost directly in the middle of the room, and was surrounded on all sides by cheerios. When she looked up I stuck my head down, scurrying away from her. I didn't need to give her anymore ammunition against me. As I sat down, I felt something hit my arm. I looked down to see a piece of crumbled up paper on the floor. Looking up I saw the Asian guy from New Directions waving me over. Grinning I hopped up and made my way over to the seat next to him.

"Hi, I'm Mike. We're in glee together."

"Yeah, I remember you! What's up?"

"Your dance moves were sweet! How long have you been dancing for? With moves like that you've had to have some formal training. "

I'm used to getting compliments about my dancing, but it was still nice when someone appreciated the amount of practice and work it took.

"I started taking lessons when I was three. What about you, do you dance?"

"I love to dance! Not to sound arrogant, but I'm the best dancer we have in glee. I've taken formal lessons since I was eight. My dad thought it was important for me to be cultured."

I chuckled at the face he made. He didn't seem too keen about being cultured. "I'm going to have to challenge you on your title of best dancer."

He laughed and shook his head, winking at me. "You're on then. May the best dancer win."

"Don't worry, I will." I boasted with a cheeky wink. Mike lightly shoved my arm. "Hey, let me see your schedule, I wanna see how many classes we have together. I need a friend to talk to."

We both pulled out our class schedules, comparing them side by side. I was shocked to see that we had all of our classes together.

"Awesome! Now I have someone to distract me during History. Ms. Hagberg is so boring, not to mention a little crazy."

"Mr. Chang and Miss Pierce. Is there something you'd like to share with the class? Since it's apparently more important than my lesson?" Mr. Ray's nasally voice interrupted us. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and was glaring at us.

"Did you know goldfish eyes perceive not only the visible spectrum, but also infrared and ultraviolet light?" Everyone turned to look at me, including Mike. "What? I thought it was a cool fact."

Mr. Ray focused back on the board, as did most of the class. Mike leaned over towards me and whispered in my ear.

"That actually was a cool fact, you got anymore?"

"Dolphins are just gay sharks."

* * *

"Just admit it already."

"No."

"Oh come on! Superman is the greatest hero ever created! He can fly, he has super strength, and can shoot lasers out of his eyes. DC obviously has the best characters."

Mike was very adamant about his opinion. We had been in the same argument for the past thirty minutes. The second he found out about my love of Marvel, he started our little 'debate.' First we had argued over Batman, then Wonder Woman, and now we were on Superman. He was under the delusion that Superman was worth half a shit.

"Superman is FAR from being the greatest. For someone who's apparently invincible, he's died a whole hell of a lot. Not to mention that Ghost Rider could beat him without breaking a sweat. Marvel sticks to their storylines better, and their characters are actually believable. An all-powerful alien whose only weakness is a rare type of rock? Can you say Mary-Sue?"

"What the hell are you two nerds talking about?"

I turned around to see Quinn staring at us with her hands on her hips. I swallowed and felt a twinge of fear run through me. Her eyebrow twitched up again and I felt like a child being scolded.

"Oh, hey Quinn. Ummm….comics…"

"Sounds like a grand time." Her voice practically dripped with sarcasm. "I need to speak with Chang for a second, so why don't you run off to English now?"

I had just opened up my mouth to argue when Quinn's hazel eyes flashed and I was once again sent scurrying away from my step-sister. Quinn can be scary when she wants to be. As I quickly walked down the hall I heard Kurt yelling for me. I looked over my shoulder to see him jogging up the hallway. I also saw Quinn and Mike having a stern conversation. It confused me. Why would Quinn be yelling at Mike like that?

"I'm sure glad I'm not Mike right now." I looked over at him, furrowing my brows.

"What do you mean?"

"Quinn's giving him a lecture on how he better watch out for you and make sure the football players don't mess with you. Must be nice having the Head Cheerio as a sister huh? Well, see you later. Can't wait to hear you sing!"

I remained standing in the hallway as he left for class. What the hell was up with Quinn today? First she was semi-nice to me this morning, and how she's making sure I'm being looked after. Yesterday I wouldn't have any doubts about her hating me but now… now I wasn't sure what to think.

* * *

I stood in front of the piano, trying to calm my frayed nerves. Everyone was milling around the room as they chattered. Mike would periodically look over at me, give a thumbs up, and resume talking to Mercedes.

Rachel bounded up to me, her smile blinding momentarily blinding me.

"Are you excited? Now remember to breathe and remain calm. I'm sure you'll do fine."

Mr. Schue rushed into the choir room clapping his hands.

"Alright guys! Are we all here? Wait…where's Santana?" As he was speaking the girl in question burst into the room. Her light blue shirt was riddled with grass stains and mud.

"Lacrosse practice was running a little late! Sorry Mr. Schue, I'm here now."

"Okay, well…Before we start today, Brittany has volunteered to sing for us. Whenever you're ready."

I took a deep breath before nodding to the band. The beat began to play at a fast pace. I shook out my limbs and began to sing.

_**Somebody said you had a new friend.  
Does she love you better than I can?  
There's a big black sky over my town,  
I know where you're at, I bet she's around.  
Ya, I know it's stupid, but I just gotta see it for myself.**_

_**I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, oooh!  
I'm right over here, why can't you see me? Oooh!  
I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home.  
I keep dancing on my own. **_

_**I'm just gonna dance, all night.  
I'm all messed up, I'm so outta line.  
Stilettos and broken bottles,  
I'm spinning around in circles.**_

_**I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, oooh!  
I'm right over here, why can't you see me? Oooh!  
I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home.  
I keep dancing on my own.  
I keep dancing on my own.**_

_**So far away, but still so near.  
The lights go on, the music dies.  
But you don't see me standing here.  
I just came to say goodbye.**_

_**I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her ooh!  
I'm giving my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home.  
I keep dancing on my own.**_

_**I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, oooh!  
I'm right over here, why can't you see me? Oooh!  
I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home.  
I keep dancing on my own.  
I keep dancing on my own.**_

I finished singing and glanced up at the group. Wolf whistles sounded through the room, the loudest ones coming from Santana who was on her feet clapping so hard it looked painful.

"Alright! That was wonderful Brittany. You don't need to worry about your singing because I think we can all agree that you've got an amazing voice. Welcome to the New Directions!

* * *

I was halfway finished with my math equations when Quinn came barreling through the front door. Her footsteps were heavy and it was obvious that she was on a mission.

"Brittany, where are you?"

Her voice was soft and calm. I felt a shiver of fear jolt up my spine. Quinn was making feel like that a lot lately. I had the distinct inclination that I was in trouble. I fought back the urge to whimper as I responded to her.

"I'm in the kitchen doing homework..."

As she walked into the kitchen I slouched down in my chair, waiting for the inevitable eruption. I knew it was risky to sing that song in glee today. If though I wasn't sing to anyone in particular, it still had a vibe too it.

"What class?"

"Trig. We have to complete an entire chapter tonight."

She grimaced when she glanced down at the problems. The sheer amount looked rather intimidating.

"Good luck with that. That's why I stuck with Algebra. Is your head feeling okay?"

"Yeah, it didn't at all today. The Advil worked."

"Good." She observed me for a moment more before turning on her heel and walking out of the kitchen. "Well dork, I'm heading over to Santana's. I'm not sure what time our parents will be back. They're going out to dinner tonight, and I'm going out with Santana. There's frozen pizza in the fridge, and the number for takeout is on the counter." And with that she was out the door again.

"Okay...have fun I guess."

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_With all the changes I've gone through, it's been hard to feel like I belong. But today when we had the huge group hug in glee, I finally felt like I belonged there. New Directions is this crazy, lovable little group of misfits, and I'm glad I'm one of them. They've accepted me with open arms, and none of them have judge me. _

_Love, _

_Brittany S. Pierce_

_PS: I know it was you that hid my iPod, Lord Tubbington. I would really like that back._


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so sorry it took so long to update! I had a terrible time with this chapter! THANK YOU for all the reviews! It's definitely a powerful motivator to write. As always, review and tell me what you thought about the chapter and the story. And, if you would be so kind, tell me what ships you want in this. I have an idea of who's going with whom, but I want to know your favorite pairings. **

* * *

The sound of screaming jolted me out of my slumber. I lay still with my eyes squeezed shut, trying to hang on to my quickly evading dream. But the only thing that remained in my mind was smoldering brown eyes and a mischievous smile. Had I been dreaming about Santana? As the shouting began again, I glanced over at the clock and groaned. Who was Quinn yelling at on a Saturday morning?

"Can't you just forget about it? It's not that big of a deal!"

"It is a big deal Quinn! You can't go around threatening everyone who looks at me!" My eyes widened when I heard Santana's voice. From her tone it was blatantly obvious that she was pissed. "She wasn't even flirting with me! She was just being nice!"

Oh shit, were they talking about me? I winced and curled up in my bed, the comforter covering everything but my face. If they were, it was only a matter of time before Quinn came storming in.

"Oh, she was being nice all right. She was nice enough to rub up all on you!" Hey I never did that! Did I? "Stacy's hand never once left your shoulder until during the entire conversation!"

Stacy? I let out a soft sigh of relief. I wasn't the cause of their argument. I may think Quinn's a bitch and that Santana deserves someone better, but I'd never purposefully break them up or want to be the reason they broke up.

"That's an exaggeration! She touched me once the entire time and for maybe a second. And anyways, I don't think you have any right to treat her the way you did! You had her slushied _seven times!_ Seven times Quinn!"

"What do you care?"

"No one deserves to be treated like that Quinn! If someone did that to Rach I'd lose my shit. And don't even act like you wouldn't go postal if the same happened to Brittany."

"I don't care about that nerd!" Ouch.

"Why are you acting like this? I know for a fact that you threatened to cut off Mike Chang's balls if he didn't watch over Brittany."

My eyebrows shot up into my hairline. That's what Quinn wanted with Mike? I didn't know whether to feel grateful that she cared, or embarrassed that she threatened my friend with mutilation. It explained why Mike had been so protective lately.

A soft meow sounded through the room causing me to look down. Lord Tubbington sat on the floor next to my bed, looking up at me with hungry eyes. Leaning over, I scooped him up, struggling to get off the bed with his heavy weight in my arms. It was a bit of a struggle to open the door and I let out low, victorious _'yes!' _when I managed to open it.

I cautiously walked down the hallway to the kitchen, my body slightly hunched over in a defensive position. As I passed my Quinn's room, I held my breath, hoping to pass by without being noticed. I was almost to safety when I was spotted.

"Brittany!"

I winced and paused mid-step. So close. I turned my head towards the arguing girls.

"Hey guys…what'cha doing?" Really Britt? Really? That wasn't completely awkward and suspicious sounding at all.

"Just talking, what are _you_ doing?" Quinn's expression was unreadable and her hazel eyes gave nothing away either. I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly very dry.

"Going to feed Tubbs. He woke me up."

I glanced over at Santana. Her mouth was twisted into a frown and her beautiful eyes seemed stormy. The corner of her moth twitched into a slight smile and I appreciated the effort.

"What the hell is Tu-HOLY SWEET HELL what is that?!"

Halfway through her sentence I had shifted LT to my other side, making him visible to the other two occupants in the room.

"San! Don't make fun of him! He's sensitive. Lord Tubbington is trying really hard to lose weight. He's going to kitty yoga and he's on the Adkins diet now." She gave me a confused look and glanced over at Quinn, who was trying to control her snickering. I narrowed my eyes at her, giving the best glare I could muster up. It must have worked because she flinched back when she finally caught my eye.

Lord Tubbington meowed in my arms, clearly disgruntled. I sighed and left Quinn's room, heading for the kitchen. It wasn't until I was pouring LT his food that I realized I had had an entire conversation with Santana without stuttering once. Brittany: 2; Stutter: 83792.

* * *

Three hours later I was in the Berry household, hiding underneath Rachel's piano once more. Only this time I wasn't hiding from Santana, I was hiding from Rachel herself. It had started off with her ranting about the evils of the meat industry for thirty minutes. Then I had made the worst mistake I ever had in my life. I watched the Farm to Fridge video she showed me. I had gotten five minutes into the video before I screamed, burst out into tears, and ran from her room.

The sound of my complete and utter terror had been enough to cause Quinn and Santana to burst out of San's room just in time to see me dive into my hiding place.

"Berry! What the hell did you do to her?!"

"I was merely showing her the cruelty that animals endure in the food industry. I didn't mean for it to upset her!"

"You showed her that fucking farm video didn't you?" Santana's voice was as angry as it had been this morning.

"What farm video?" Quinn asked impatiently.

"It's this creepy, morbid fucking video that shows a bunch of animals being violently and horrifically killed. Both baby animals and adult ones."

Quinn whirled around to face Rachel and from my spot under the piano I couldn't see her expression, but I knew it was probably scary to see.

"What the hell were you thinking? She's going to have nightmares for a fucking week!"

I let out a soft whimper, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. Soft footsteps approached me, and I looked up to see tan legs standing before me. A second later Santana was on her knees, her brown eyes filled with concern. Fingers wrapped themselves around my arm delicately, pulling me towards her.

I awkwardly shuffled forward, falling into her warm embrace gratefully. She pressed a soft kiss to my forehead and I melted into her touch. A sigh escaped my lips as I closed my eyes, fully relaxing in her arms.

"It's okay. I got you." Her voice was soothing and I could feel my heart rate rapidly slow down. "Rachel, apologize."

"I'm sorry Brittany. I didn't mean for the video to upset you this much." She seemed sincere in her apology. I nodded to show that I accepted it. I was still too distraught to speak so I remained silent, letting Santana hold me. It was a testament of how distracted I was that it was only now I realized that Santana was shirtless.

I let out a squeak and attempted to wiggle out of her embrace. Her arms tightened, holding me tightly to her. My forehead was pressed against her shoulder, my face buried into her neck. It was an extremely intimate position to be in, and I was ashamed of how much I was enjoying being in it.

Her skin was slightly damp and when I breathed in, I could faintly smell a hint of vanilla. I briefly wondered what her skin tastes like before attempting to escape again.

"Britt, what's wrong?"

"Yo-you're sh-shirtless."

I heard Rachel;s voice behind us.

"She isn't the only one." I looked over to see Quinn also standing in her bra, but unlike Santana, she didn't have pants on either. Both seemed to realize their state of undress at the same time and took off towards Santana's room, leaving Rachel and I alone in the living room.

It was silent for ten seconds before Rachel burst out in laughter. She laughed even harder when we heard Santana's voice filter through the door.

"SHUT THE HELL UP RACHEL!"

* * *

The sound of my name being shouted was the only warning I had before being tackled onto my bed. Landing on my side, the breath was expelled from my body when something heavy landed on top of me. I looked up to see Mike beaming down at me. I quickly pushed him off me, causing him to fall of the bed.

"What the hell was that for? How'd you even get in here?"

"Oh, Quinn let me in as she was leaving."

I remembered what Quinn and Santana had said earlier today. I grabbed Mike, pulling him off the floor and back onto the bed.

"Hey Mike, can I ask you something? You have to promise to be honest with me though."

"Sure."

"Did Quinn tell you to watch out for me? Like, to make sure nothing happens?"

He was silent for a moment. I looked over to see him squirming around, clearly uncomfortable with the question. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it a second later. Finally he nodded his head.

"Is that what she was yelling at you about?"

Another nod.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"She told me not to. I didn't want to get on her bad side. You should've seen what she did to Stacy yesterday."

"I heard about it this morning. They've been fighting about it all day." After the incident at Rachel's, they had come back here with me. It hadn't been very long for the arguments started once more. "That's probably why they're going on their date now."

Mike gave me a confused look.

"Who's going on their date?"

I looked over at him, scrunching up my nose and looking as confused as he did.

"Quinn and Santana. Who else?"

"But Santana wasn't in the car."

"What car?"

"The car that picked Quinn up."

I shot straight up, looking over at Mike fearfully. He looked just as concerned. I ran down the hall towards the kitchen, scouring the counter for a note. When I found it I snatched it up quickly, scanning the small piece of paper.

_Dorkatron,_

_I'm going out with Santana tonight. There's food in the fridge. Don't burn down the house, don't have a party, and don't invite anyone over. Our parents should be back tomorrow morning. Make sure to tell them where I am if they ask. _

_Quinn_

My stomach was twist violently and I felt the urge to be sick. I looked behind me to see Mike standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Are you sure it wasn't Santana? You're 100% positive, like completely."

"It wasn't Santana. It was Puck."

Oh god. I closed my eyes, still fighting the urge to vomit. I quickly felt my pockets, trying to find my phone. I scrolled though my contacts, trying to find Santana's number. She had just given it to me the day before.

It seemed to ring for an eternity before she picked up.

"Hey Britt-Britt. Are you feeling any better?"

"S-sant-tana."

"Britt, what's wrong? Why do you sound like that?"

"W-wh-where are y-you? Ri-right now."

"At my house, why? Do you need me to come over? Is there something wrong with Quinn? Is she still upset about our fight? She said she wanted to be alone tonight but…"

My worst fears where being realized. I had already had a suspicion, but to hear Santana unknowingly confirm it awful.

"Britt? I'm coming over. I'm leaving now."

And with that she hung up. I stared at the phone in horror.

"Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no."

"What's wrong?" I spun wildly to look at Mike. He looked anxious, and was shifting from foot to foot nervously.

"Santana's on her way here. She doesn't know that Quinn went out. She thinks Quinn wanted to be left alone tonight. What do we do?" I was interrupted by frantic knocking on my front door. "Oh God."

I had forgotten that Santana only lived a few houses down from us. She could run here in only a few minutes.

"Brittany? Quinn? Open the door!"

I looked at Mike once more before all but sprinting towards the front door. I opened it to reveal Santana, panting and out of breath, on my front step. When the door was open enough to see me, she pulled me towards her, checking me over for any signs of injury. She took notice of the tear tracks on my cheeks, and the tears in my eyes.

"Brittany, what's wrong? Are you hurt? What happened?" She looked past me and her gaze hardened. I looked back to see Mike looking terrified behind me.

"You!" She shrieked, pointing at him. She pushed past me, lunging at him. I grabbed her waist, pulling her away from him. "What did you do to her?!"

"He didn't hurt me!" I had finally found my voice, and she paused, turning in my arms to look at me once more.

"Why are you crying? And where is Quinn?"

I swallowed hard, looking down and away from her. Soft hands cupped my jaw, lifting it up to face her.

"Brittany, where is Quinn?"

"I-I'm s-sorry." I sobbed, holding out the note to her. She gave me a confused look before taking it. I could see the heartbreak appear on her face as she read it. Tears welled up in those beautiful dark eyes, and that hurt more than any other pain I had experience before.

"Do you know who she's out with?" Her voice was soft, and she sounded so vulnerable. Everything in me screamed against telling her. In the end it was Mike who spoke up.

"I saw her get in the car with Puck."

Santana shook her head, muttering under her breath. She pulled out of my arms, turning back towards the door. My heart clenched painfully.

"San, I'm so s-sorry." She turned and grabbed me in a hug.

"Don't apologize. You've done nothing wrong. You did the right thing actually." She pulled away from me. A loving kiss was gently placed against the corner of my mouth and I blushed. "Never feel guilty for doing the right thing."

* * *

**Dun Dun Dun! This is the end of Quinntana in this story, so worry not my dears! Brittana will be on very soon! As I asked before, please review and tell me what pairings you would like to see in this! **


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm so sorry guys! My laptop broke and I had to get it fixed! I had to race to get this made and updated! As a result, it's super short. Please forgive me! **

**The reviews I've gotten for the last chapter have been very mixed. Some think it was a good move on Britt's part, other's think it was a dick move. I can see the point both sides are trying to make. And I thank all of you for telling me what you thought about it. I appreciate both positive and negative reviews.**

* * *

A hard slap greeted me as I walked into the kitchen. I cupped my jaw and turned to glare at Quinn. Her hazel eyes were blazing with anger and she drew her hand back to hit me once more. My body reacted and I quickly grabbed her arm. Her eyes widened and she tried to pull her wrist out of my grip.

"Let go of me you bitch!" She hissed, swinging her other arm at me. Like the other one, I quickly grabbed her wrist, bringing them both in front of her.

"No. Not until you stop trying to hit me." I began to push her father into the kitchen using my superior height and weight. She tried to plant her feet, but I gave her a light push, using my grip on her wrist to keep her upright.

"You stupid, worthless, little bitch! You were the one who told her! Don't try and deny it!"

I felt the unfamiliar rush of anger surge through my body. Adrenalin kicked in, my body heating up and gearing for a fight.

"Yeah, I told her." I spat at her, letting go of her wrist and shoving her away from me. "I'm not going to let you play her and treat her like shit. She deserves better than that!"

"And how would you know what she deserves? You think you can give her what she deserves?" Quinn let out a dark chuckle. "You're nothing. Nothing, you hear me. "

"Better to be nothing than to be a whore!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Dad roared as he burst into the kitchen, Judy following along behind him. "I want answers. Start talking, NOW."

"Nothing. It was my fault. I started it." Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Quinn turn to look at me, but I avoided her gaze, keeping my eyes trained on Dad. He looked surprised, and for good reason. Rarely was I ever confrontational, choosing to be mostly passive.

I walked past him towards my room. As I stepped into the hallway, heading up to my room, my anger had left me.

All that was left was the bitter taste of regret.

* * *

For the past thirty minutes I had been searching for shapes on my ceiling, hiding upstairs in shame until the rest of the family left for church. Ever since Dad and Judy got married, she had been making Dad go to Sunday service with them. Both Judy and Quinn had given up on me going after a few tries. I glanced back over at the clock. Only a few more minutes to go.

Soft knocking interrupted my silent, regretful brooding. I sighed, before giving them permission to come in. I was pleasantly surprised when it was Rachel, not my family, that pranced into my room. She was strangely quiet as she inspected my room.

"Brittany, I was unaware that you were such a fan of comics…and half-naked women…" I blushed, quickly jumping up and trying to block her view of the poster with my body.

"Nothing to see here…" I let out a nervous laugh. "So, Rach, not that I don't like to see you, but why are you here?"

"Well…I'm here to ask your advice." Rachel fidgeted nervously.

"Okay…what's it about?"

"Relationships."

"Alright, what do you want to know?"

"If you really care for someone, but they keep making choices that have a negative impact on another person you care for, what would you say to them? How would you stop them?"

I stared at her for a moment.

"Uh…ask them why they keep making those…choices. They might have a good reason for doing them. As for the part about them hurting someone, let them know that that's what they're doing. They're hurting someone, and it's not nice." I swallowed hard, feeling the guilt and regret from this morning seep back. The bitter taste still stung my mouth and a heaviness settled on my chest.

Rachel was either oblivious to my distress, or chose not to comment on it, continuing her rambling.

"So I should confront them about it? That could work; however, they can be quite thickheaded. Thank you Brittany. Now, continuing with our girl talk." She hesitated for a moment. "Santana told me what happened yesterday, and I want to know your perspective on it. I'm surprised you told her."

"What do you mean?"

"While I can understand why you told her, I'm still surprised you did. Quinn is your step-sister after all, and she's able to tank your social status."

"So? People already see me as a nerd; it's not like I'm crazy popular. And what she did wasn't right."

Rachel was silent for a moment and it made me a bit nervous. She had hr bottom lip between her teeth, and she was still wringing her hands.

"How did you find out she was with Puck anyways? Did…did you follow her?" Rachel looked really nervous, downright terrified almost. She was acting weird.

"No, Mike saw her get in the car with Puck when he came over."

"Wait…Mike was there? Mike Chang?"

"Yeah? What other Mike do we know? What's up with you Rachel, you're being weird."

Rachel suddenly got defensive, standing up imposingly. (Well, as imposingly as someone her height could get.)

"At least I didn't tell someone's secret! You were being spiteful and did it to hurt Quinn! You'd do anything to hurt her because you like Santana and won't accept the fact that she's happy without you. It's time you realized that she's not interested in you."

I was shocked. Why was Rachel being like this?

"Are you saying I shouldn't have told Santana? Just let Quinn run off with whoever the hell she wanted and keep it a secret? Santana is my friend! And your cousin! You would rather her be lied to and cheated on than to be told the truth? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? She's not even your friend. All those times she was nice to you? It was because she felt sorry for you. You are _nothing_."

I stormed past Rachel towards the door, flinging it open.

"I think you need to leave."

Rachel suddenly looked panicked and started to say something.

"Now." I cut her off.

Dejectedly she walked to the door, pausing momentarily to glance up at me. I forced myself to remain unwavering and cold. Once she was in the hall she turned back towards the room.

"Brittany…please-"

"No. I don't want to hear it. You made your thoughts on the matter very clear already." And with that I closed the door in her face.

As her footsteps retreated down the hall I closed my eyes, leaned my back against the door, and slid down it. I barely succeeded at holding back tears as I thought about the friendship I had just ruined. Again.

* * *

A few minutes later I heard my cell phone start ringing. The caller ID flashed across the screen.

_**Santana Lopez**_

As my finger hovered over answer, Rachel's words rang through my head.

'_You are nothing. She's not even your friend.'_

My fingers drifted to the left and hit the ignore call button. And that's when the tears finally came.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, follow me on Tumblr! My username is AmbushHunter. As always, review and tell me what you think! The more feedback I get, the better I understand what you guys want to see. Also, if someone could create some cover art for this story, it would be wildly appreciated! **

* * *

I walked in to McKinley the next morning feeling like a zombie. I probably looked like one too. There were circles under my eyes from lack of sleep and my skin was much paler than usual. My eyesight was blurry, and it took a few tries for me to be able to open my locker. I fumbled with my books, trying not to drop them.

When I noticed a football player walk my way with a slushee, I didn't even try to get away. I merely closed my eyes and waited patiently for it to hit me. The icy chill of the drink was enough to wake me up a bit. The green ice dripped down my face on to my shirt, staining the yellow fabric.

With a sigh I wiped as much off my face as possible before grabbing the extra shirt I had thought to bring. I walked to the bathroom slowly, not all that eager to start the rest of my day.

If I had turned around I would have noticed the three pairs of eyes that followed my every move.

* * *

I had been so distracted by everything that was going on I had completely forgotten about Glee Club. I'd been trying my hardest to avoid speaking to anyone but Mike. During lunch Kurt and Mercedes had tried to corner me, but I fled, not wanting to hear them yell at me too.

I had spent all of lunch period hiding out in the choir room, and that's when it had hit me. Everyone I was trying to avoid was in New Directions. I'd be stuck in a small room with them for at least an hour, most likely even more. There was no way it could end well.

I was better off to skip it. So that's what I did. Once the final bell rang, instead of heading for the choir room, I headed out the doors. In between my house and McKinley there's a small, heavily wooded park. Walking has always eased my mind, so instead of heading straight home I took a detour, walking down an obscure trail in the forest.

Apparently I wasn't paying enough attention to where I was going, because the path I was on, wasn't actually a walking trail. I tripped over a rock and went down, hitting my head against another rock, and promptly passed out.

* * *

I woke up to a persistent buzzing. Groaning I sat up, squinting my eyes against the light. It wasn't as bright as earlier, and the forest was cast in shadows. Pain flashed through my skull, white-hot and throbbing. Groaning I reached up to touch my forehead and when I pulled it away it was covered in blood. The buzzing continued and I realized it was my phone.

I had 14 missed calls. Seven from Santana, four from Mike, one from Rachel, one from Quinn, and one from an unknown number. All had left voicemails. I clicked on them. Santana was first two.

"_Hey, where are you? Glee's already started. You feeling okay? You seemed sick today."_

"_Brittany, where are you? It's been 20 minutes. Answer your phone."_

After that was Mike.

"_Hey man, where you at? Everyone's kind of worried. It's been a half hour and no one's seen or heard from you."_

"_Brittany. Answer your phone. I mean it!"_

Santana.

"_I'm not playing around Brittany! We're worried sick! It's been over an hour. Quinn thinks you went home, but you should have been made it home by now! Answer your phone!"_

Mike again.

"_Brittany, if you don't answer the next call we're going looking for you. I'm serious, we've already had the guys search the school for you. We're on our way to your house."_

The one from Rachel.

"_Brittany, I understand your upset with me but you need to answer your phone. I overreacted yesterday and what I said was out of line. Just please, please pick up your phone and call us. Any of us. We're almost on your street now." _

Two from Santana.

"_We're outside your house. Open up or else Quinn will."_

"_Where are you? Your house is empty. Why aren't you at your house?! Brittany I'm really scared, answer your phone! Rachel didn't mean what she said yesterday, I promise it wasn't true! You are my friend, so please call one of us! Tina and Kurt won't stop crying, and Rachel's blaming herself…please call me back! Please..."_

Quinn.

"_Where the HELL are you? I called Mom and she said neither of them has heard from you. Everyone is worried sick. I swear to god if this is a joke I will smack the shit out of you like I did yesterday. I'm not playing around Brittany! We're about to call the police and report you missing."_

Mike.

"_It's been two hours Brittany! We called the police but they can't do anything yet. Call me back! We're checking the city for you. It's almost dark!"_

Unknown caller.

"_It's Mercedes. Girl, I don't know what in the name of the almighty father is going on but you need to call us back. Satan is losing her mind over here, Rachel and Kurt are hysterical messes, and Tina hasn't stopped crying for a second since you went missing. I know you and I aren't close, but we're all worried about you. Please call one of us." _

Santana

"_Please god be okay. No one can find you. No one's seen you. None of your neighbors say they saw you come home from school. You haven't called or texted anyone. If something's happened to you…oh god, please be okay. Please Brittany."_

"_Brittany please call me. Please, I don't know what to do. We've searched everywhere. Oh god…"_

Scrambling up, I quickly ran back in the direction I came from. I stumbled a bit at first, falling several more times and creating more scratches and bruises.

* * *

When I got to my house there were several cars in the driveway. All the lights were on and I could see people in the windows, pacing around anxiously. My head was spinning and it was getting harder to put one foot in front of the other. Someone must have noticed my approach because the front door suddenly opened, someone running towards me.

The person crashed into me hard, pulling me into a tight hug. We barely managed to stay upright. After a few seconds I dimly realized the person was crying. I ran my hands over their hair soothingly.

"It's okay...I'm okay."

"What happened to her? She's bleeding…" I heard someone whisper. I couldn't pinpoint who, everything was running together in my head and it was hard to focus. The person hugging me pulled back sharply, and that's when I realized it was Santana.

Hands lightly prodded my forehead and I let out a pained whimper, causing the hands to go shooting back.

"Someone call an ambulance. She's hurt!"

Scared brown eyes stared into mine, and the intensity of her gaze made me shiver. My body began to sway, and my vision blurred out.

"S'tana…I don't feel so good…"

I passed out for the second time that night.

* * *

**Santana's POV**

"_S'tana…I don't feel so good…"_

_Brittany's weight suddenly went limp in my arms, and had it not been for my athletic reflexes, I would have dropped her. I checked her face, running my hands against her cheek._

"_Brittany! Oh god, Brittany wake up! Call the ambulance! NOW!"_

_All I could see was Brittany's rapidly paling face and the never-ending stream of blood that pour from her forehead. I choked back tears as I kissed the top of her head, praying for God to make sure she's okay. _

_It seemed like an eternity before the damn ambulance finally arrived. When the EMT's got out they tried to take her from me. For a moment I resisted, but once I felt a hand on my shoulder I let them take her. It killed me. _

_Mercedes was behind me, trying to reassure me that she would be okay. That the paramedics would take care of her. _

_As we drove to Lima Memorial Hospital I promised myself that once she woke up, I would tell her. I would tell her how helpless and terrified I was when she was gone. The sheer relief once I saw her walking down the road. The renewed helpless and terror when she passed out in my arms. How hard it was to give her up. I promised to tell her everything. _

_She just had to wake up first. _

* * *

**Since the last one was so short, and it took so long, I decided to kick my butt into high gear and churn out another chapter tonight. This should make up for it (I hope!) Leave reviews and tell me what you think! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much for the reviews! The feedback has been phenomenal! You guys are just so awesome. Every single one of you! **

* * *

My eyes shot open and I sat up in bed, causing my head to swim. I groaned, rubbing my eyes. I sat there for a moment, trying to place where I was. There was a weird beeping noise and I looked around me to see several machines blinking at me.

My attention was pulled away from the room when a woman walked into my room. She was about average height, maybe four or five inches shorter than me. She had curly red hair, and a plethora of freckles scattered across her cheeks. Judging by the white coat and the clipboard, I assumed she was a doctor here.

"I heard from a little birdy that you were awake! I'm assuming you want to know what happened." I nodded my head emphatically. "Alright, well. You hit your head pretty hard, and required some stitches. Around 15 all together, to be exact. We don't think you have a concussion, and you don't appear to have any memory loss. You were pretty dehydrated, so that coupled with the blood loss, caused you to pass out. But you're fine now, and can go home later on today! Now, once you can't drive for the next week or so. Just as a precaution. Okay?"

"Okay. I understand." I was struggling to keep my eyes open, and she must of noticed because she gave me a comforting smile.

"Alright, I'm going to let you rest. I'll come back when it's time to sign you out."

I was dozing off as she walked out of the door.

* * *

My eyes burned from the harsh glare of the light, and my brain pounded against my skull. I let out a soft whine, reaching up to rub my forehead. A hand grabbed my wrist, startling me. I looked over to see Santana's beautiful eyes scanning my face, searching my eyes for something I was unaware of. The hand that had circled my wrist slid up to my palm, bringing the back of my hand to her full lips, where she placed a delicate kiss against it.

My heart thumped in my chest, and a light blush settled on my cheek. Her gaze drifted off to something above my head and I followed her line of sight. My heart monitor was going crazy because of my pulse. My blush intensified, and I knew I was completely red.

"Huh, that's interesting." She gave me a sly smirk. She was going to tease me? Oh, it was on.

"Sorry, you're just really pretty. Have we met before?" I gave her my best confused look. Her reaction was priceless. She looked completely horrified. And although I tried my hardest, I couldn't help but to laugh. She sighed in relief, her body completely relaxing. She frowned at me and reached out to smack my arm.

"That was mean."

"You're right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." I reached up to skim my fingers against her cheek, cradling her jaw. "If it makes any difference, I don't think I could ever forget _you_."

Her smile shone brighter than any real or artificial light I had ever seen, and I felt my entire body heat up under the warmth. She grabbed my hands, both of which were wandering across her skin, and brought them together, pressing butterfly kisses against my knuckles.

"There's something I need to tell you. You have to let me get everything out before you say anything though. Okay?" Her nervousness concerned me, and I nodded my consent.

"Okay."

"Last night when you went missing…I was terrified. No one had seen or heard from you, and I couldn't get a hold of you…It was the worst experience of my life. All I could think about what these awful scenarios and I couldn't get them out of my head. I was terrified that we were going to find you lying in a ditch somewhere or on the side of the road. And then I would think about what would happen if we didn't find you, if you had been taken or something." She let out a sob and I scrambled to hold her.

It was a struggle to get her on the hospital bed with me. She tried resisting, but I was a lot stronger than she was, and I managed to get her to lie down next to me.

"Every time I called you, I begged God for you to answer your phone. For you to laugh at me for being so overdramatic and hysterical over nothing. And each time you didn't I felt like I died a little more inside. When we went through your house I thought we would find you asleep on your bed, safe…and when you weren't there, I lost it. I-I kind of went crazy. I was screaming at the guys to go check the town. I called everyone I knew and could get a hold of, asking them if they had seen you at all. When Rachel- when she told me what she said to you, I almost killed her. All I could think about what that if something terrible had happened to you, you wouldn't realize how much you meant to me. You'd think I didn't care for you.

But I do care about you. I care about you more than I've ever have before. You matter more than Quinn, Rachel, everyone. When I couldn't find you, it made me realize how important you are to me. The second I saw you walking down the road…it was like nothing else mattered. You were safe and you were coming back to me. No one else mattered."

She took a deep breath, and I ran my hands along her cheeks, wiping away the tears that had settled there. She looked so devastingly beautiful that I felt my heart would stop.

"I thought the world had shattered when you passed out in my arms. You were so pale, and there was so much blood. I felt so…helpless. That's all I had felt last night, helpless. I wouldn't let the paramedics take you at first. As long as you were in my arms, you were safe. No one could hurt you, I wouldn't let them. You had gotten hurt because I wasn't with you, I couldn't let that happen again.

It killed me when they took you from me. I felt so cold and empty. Like when they took you, they took everything good from my world too. And that's when I realized that you are the good in my world. Your smile lights the world and your happiness makes everything worth it. I feel happier around you than anyone or anything else."

I felt tears well up and I struggled not to cry. I pulled her tighter against me, craning my neck to kiss her head. She snuggled into me, her head resting in the crook of my neck.

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course Britt-Britt. And I want to be with you but…" Santana bit her bottom lip, casting her eyes away from me. A strange cold sensation crept into my bones, turning them into lead.

"But?"

"But I need some time. Quinn-she really hurt me, and I don't want the past mistakes of an old relationship to get in the way of ours. I just need some time."

I gave her an understanding smile, rubbing her back adoringly.

"I understand. I'll wait for however long you need."

Santana looked at me for a moment before leaning in. The second her lips brushed against mine, fireworks exploded behind my eyes. I opened my eyes to see her looking at me with a kind smile and she nuzzled our noses together.

I caught movement on the edge of my peripheral and I glanced up to see Quinn standing in the doorway, looking at us with a wounded expression on her face. Santana turned to see what was I was looking. When she caught sight of Quinn, her face fell, and she shuffled closer to me.

"Quinn-"

"No, Santana, it's fine. I understand. I hurt you, more than once. I haven't done right by you, and I don't deserve you." She took a deep breath, looking down at the floor. "It took me a lot to realize that what I did wasn't just wrong…it was hurtful and selfish. I'm sorry."

She turned back around and started to go back out into the hallway.

"Quinn." This time I was the one who spoke up. Quinn paused, halfway out the door. She kept her head turned from me, but tilted in my direction. "I'm sorry for yelling at you the other day. I shouldn't have done that."

Quinn shook her head.

"We were both at fault."

Then she left.

* * *

Santana had a tight grip on my waist as she led me out of the hospital. Dad, Judy, and Quinn had decided to go out to lunch after I was released. They had invited me, but I wasn't feeling all that hungry. And I definitely didn't want to be away from Santana too long.

Her fingers danced along my arm, a delicious heat following in their wake. Goosebumps erupted across my skin and I shivered. A smirk tugged on the corner of her lip and I felt the overwhelming urge to place a kiss there.

So I did.

She let out a small, content sigh against my lips, and I smiled. I pulled away just enough to sprinkle light kisses against her lips, cheek, and nose. She made the adorable scrunchy face that completely melted my heart. She chuckled, grabbing onto my hand and swinging in between us.

"Let's go back to my house, okay?" I grinned, nodding enthusiastically. She giggled at my eargerness, shaking her head at me.

"Alright."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hola! Thank you to all the wonderful people who reviewed! I appreciate it so much.**

**I pulled a Brittany while reading those! I was paying more attention to my phone than the steps! Thankfully the only thing I wounded was my dignity.**

* * *

Santana's room was exactly as I had expected. It had dark red walls, dark carpet, and black sheets. Several posters of musicians and bands decorated her walls, and she had a bookshelf that took up half the space. I browsed her selection, eyeing the titles critically. She had several classics, but one book stopped me completely in my tracks.

"You read Twilight?" I could barely keep the revulsion out of my tone. I thought I had covered it up fairly well, but the glare she shot me told me otherwise.

"It's not as bad as people think it is!"

I gave her an incredulous look.

"Your right, it's worse. Edward is horribly creepy. He breaks into her room and watches her. For months, and that's before they even start dating! Not to mention that the books personally set back the feminist movement several _centuries._ Seriously. He dumps her so she goes into a catatonic state and then later does incredibly stupid and dangerous things because she has illusions of him being there. Nothing about this series is healthy or normal. It's a poisonous series to read that plants terrible and dangerous things into the minds of young girls."

Santana arched a perfectly maintained eyebrow, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she studied me. After a long moment she walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck as she placed a soft kiss against my cheek.

"You okay there? I thought you were about to blow a gasket."

I gave her a sheepish smile and hung my head. I hadn't meant to lecture her, but I really hated the series. She let out a cute giggle, nuzzling her nose with mine.

"Sorry…" I mumbled.

She shook her head, grabbing my wrist and leading me towards her bed. She pushed me down gently, sliding in beside me. Her leg swung over my hip, her heel pressing into my skin. Santana's warm breath hit my neck as she nuzzled into me.

"San? Why are we at here? Not that I don't like your house, it's pretty, but…no one's here…"

"Well, all of your family is out at lunch. I don't have a key to get into your house, and after what happened yesterday, if you think any of us are going to let you be alone, you're sadly mistaken."

"So we're just going to rest here?"

"Yepp. We're going to lie here, and we're going to take a nap. If you try to get out of this bed, I will chain you to it. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good girl. I'll have you trained within a week."

I chuckled good-naturedly, placing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Go to sleep honey."

* * *

I woke to find something wet brushing up against my foot. I let out a girly shriek, scrambling to get away. The motion jerked Santana roughly, knocking her off the bed. She landed on the floor with a loud squeal.

At the foot of the bed sat a cute little puppy. It was brown and white, with a fluffy coat. I let out another squeal, lunging for it.

"Aw! It's a puppy!"

I cuddled the dog to my chest, placing sporadic kisses onto its fur. It wiggled in my arms while it tried to lick my jaw.

"Aw! She's so cute!"

"Her name's Lucy." Santana reached over to scratch the dog behind her ears. "Thanks for throwing me off the bed by the way. An interesting way to wake up."

"Sorry…" I pouted, leaning over to kiss Santana's full lips. When I pulled back she jolted forward, reconnecting our lips. I let out a small laugh.

"What's so funny?" She asked, her left eyebrow twitching up. She looked creepily like Quinn when she did that.

"We're opposites."

"What?"

"Look at us, Santana. We're complete contradictions. You have dark hair, skin, and eyes. I look like the poster child for Dutch-German heritage. I'm a dancer, you play Lacrosse. Even our pets are opposite. I have a cat, and you have a dog."

There was a momentary pause before she burst out laughing.

"You're right."

"I'm always right." I said with a smug smirk. It earned me a sharp slap on the arm. I winced, rubbing the area and giving her a beseeching look. I glanced over at her closet and saw her Lacrosse stick. A thought suddenly struck me and I quickly looked over at Santana.

"Don't you normally have some sort of Lacrosse meet or something today?"

"Yeah, I had one today actually." She shrugged, placing a kiss on my temple. "But I skipped it."

I sat up abruptly, swiveling around to look at her.

"You did what? Why?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, as though missing one of her games was no big deal.

'You're more important."

"B-But you're captain! You can't just skip!"

"I already talked to Coach about it. She said it was fine." She removed Lucy from my arms, pulling me into her lap. She nuzzled her nose against mine; placing sweet kisses against my lips. "You are more important than Lacrosse, okay?"

Her hand wrapped gently around my jaw, forcing me to lock eyes with her. I nodded dimly, more focused on her beauty than her words. She paused for a moment before reaching out and flicking my nose. I flinched and jerked away from her.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You weren't paying attention! Serves you right."

She giggled, slowly inching away from me. I narrowed my eyes playfully at her, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her towards me. She let out a laugh, trying half-heartedly to get away. I trapped her between my body and the wall, and then began mercilessly tickling her.

She squealed and pushed against me, almost knocking me off the bed. I held on tightly, keeping her in my arms. As I was leaning in to kiss her, her bedroom door flew open. In walked Santana's mother. She paused, looking as shocked to see me as I was to see her.

"Oh! Lo siento, mija. I didn't know you had a friend over! Hello Brittany, it's nice to see you again!"

"H-hello Mrs. Lopez. I-it's nice to s-see you too."

"Are you going to stay for dinner? We're having enchiladas tonight! They're Santanita's favorite! You two go get washed up. It'll be ready soon."

Santana grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. I nodded and whispered a quiet _'thanks'_ as we passed by her mother. As she pulled me into the hallway, Santana hip-checked me, sending a reassuring smile when I looked over at her.

She dragged me into the bathroom, shoving me ahead of her.

"You can wash your hands first."

I looked down at the sink and paused, looking at the plethora of bottles that littered the rim. My head tilted to the side as I read all the labels.

"Hey San?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you have so many different soaps?"

Santana laughed and pointed to a light pink bottle.

"Mom likes the Strawberry one because it makes her hands smell like a fruit basket. I hate strawberries with a passion, so I use this one." She pointed to the bottle directly next to it. This one was a dark red color. "It's Cherry. And finally we have Dad's. Dad refuses to go to work smelling like a 'cracked up school girl' his words, not mine. So, he has a 'manly' smelling soap. Which is basically just regular soap."

"But there's still four other bottles."

"Yeah, I don't know why those are there. No one in the house uses them anyways. Pick one and we'll claim it's yours."

After carefully scanning the remaining bottles I picked the only blue one in the group. I lifted it up to show to Santana.

"Congrats. That's now your soap."

I felt a blush spread up my neck and across my cheeks. This shouldn't have made me feel so…special. All she did was let me 'claim' one of the random soaps in her house. But it still mattered. I still felt like I belonged here.

Like I had a place in her life.

* * *

A deep voice rang through the kitchen.

"Maribel, Santana? I'm home." Santana looked up, grinning at the tall man standing in the doorway. She jumped up, running over to him and practically jumping into his arm. The man gave a throaty laugh, swinging the small girl around in his arm.

"Papi!"

"Oh my! What a welcome!"

He laughed again as he set Santana back on the floor, then walked over and placed a kiss on his wife's cheek.

"That's smells good. What are we having?"

"Enchiladas. They're about ready, so go sit down."

He turned towards the table, startling slightly when he noticed me. He paused, giving me a curious and confused look. His eyes drifted up towards the large bandage that hid the stitched on my forehead. Santana noticed this and quickly spoke up.

"Dad, this is Brittany."

His hand completely engulfed mine when he shook my hand.

"It's nice to meet you Brittany. I'm Emilio."

"I-it's n-nice to meet y-you too."

He gave me another look before turning around to glance at his wife. Santana darted over, whispering something in his ear. I felt heat rush to my cheeks and I looked down in embarrassment. I could only imagine what Santana was saying to him.

Emilio let out a small cough before sitting down. He looked over at me and opened his mouth, but closed it a few seconds later. Maribel burst into the dining room, holding a large plate of enchiladas.

"Alright, here we go. Dinner is served!"

* * *

**Guys! They're trying to pass SOPA again! If it passes will be removed. Some authors would even face CRIMINAL CHARGES. Please go to the following link and sign the petition. **

.gov/petition/stop-sopa-2013/LMzMVrQF

**Please stop this! **


	10. Author's Note

A/N:

Hey guys. Thank you so much for the reviews. They've been awesome.

Now for some bad news. I've had to get a lot of medical testing done this week. It should be all over by now, but it still makes it hard to update. And depending on my diagnoses it may be a while before I can. I'll update as much as possible, I PROMISE! I'm not abandoning this story.

Please be patient with me, and I'll try my hardest not to let you guys down. Okay?

Awesome!


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